-
Bank settlements create windfall for U.S., and wrangling over how it is spent
U.S. authorities' $8.9 billion settlement last month with French bank BNP Paribas for sanctions busting will pay for New York cops to get live computer feeds of street crime and for new carpets in the offices of prosecutors, among many other things. In the past few months, American regulators and prosecutors have forced some of the world's largest banks to pay massive fines for everything from breaching U.S. sanctions to alleged mortgage abuse and illegal tax schemes. Now the question is what the U.S. is going to do with all the cash. In some places – particularly New York state – that is leading to ugly ... (full story)