HSBC Pays Huge Fine

(Reuters) - HSBC has agreed to pay a record $1.92 billion fine to settle a multi-year probe by U.S. prosecutors, who accused Europe's biggest bank of failing to enforce rules designed to prevent the laundering of criminal cash.

The government's been raking in the dough with these big fines...

Such settlements have become commonplace. In what had been the largest settlement until this week, ING Bank NV in June agreed to pay $619 million to settle U.S. government allegations it violated sanctions against countries including Cuba and Iran. 

Other banks that have reached settlements over sanctions violations are Switzerland's Credit Suisse Group, Britain's Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays and ABN Amro Holding NV, a Dutch bank acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and a bank consortium in 2007.

That's a lot of money the government's been raking in, isn't it?

As for HSBC, the fine's no big deal:

"Is it absorbable? Yes. Is it significant? Yes. But in the absence of a broader attack on the business structure or individuals, that explains why the market reaction has been relatively muted today and has been since the allegations came out," he added. 

Does anyone know where all these billions in fines wind up? Don't you think it's reasonable to ask? No one ever does. Are they used to help pay down the $16 trillion+ national debt? Yeah, right.