LONDON (Financial Times) - Financial institutions have paid more than $150bn in fines in the U.S. relating to the credit crisis, passing a significant milestone a decade after it became clear American subprime woes had become a global problem.
Ten years ago this week, France’s BNP Paribas barred investors from accessing money in funds with subprime mortgage exposure, citing a "complete evaporation of liquidity”. The date — August 9 2007 — is pegged by many as the moment the financial crisis began.
Financial institutions have largely recovered from the Great Recession that followed, but the crisis profoundly reshaped economies and markets, and the effects on politics and society are still being felt.
Dealing with banks’ alleged misdeeds from the era also remains unfinished business. The public outcry for accountability ushered in an era where the U.S. government was willing to penalize financial institutions sharply, yet most crisis-related actions were civil rather than criminal.
 Much of the public remained unsatisfied because few bankers went to prison. A trio of multibillion-dollar settlements with European banks this year has netted $19bn for the Department of Justice and regulators, including $5.5bn paid by Royal Bank of Scotland of the UK last month — taking the total over the landmark figure.

A single bank, Bank of America, has paid more than one-third of all recoveries to U.S. authorities, according to an analysis by the Financial Times. Its $56bn in settlements with state and federal regulators and the DoJ cover its own mortgage sales and actions by two companies it acquired — subprime mortgage lender Countrywide and broker Merrill Lynch. JPMorgan Chase, which acquired Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, has paid the second-largest amount, with $27bn in fines and relief.