The financial crisis saw a heavy investment in compliance as regulators on both sides of the Atlantic hit banks and other firms in the sector with massive fines for years of bending the rules and breaking the law. Now the financial services industry is looking to cut back on those costs, and increased technology spend appears to be the answer.
European and U.S. banks have paid more than U.S.$150bn in litigation and conduct charges since 2011, according to estimates by banking giant Citigroup. It reckons that the biggest banks, including JPMorgan and HSBC, have doubled the number of people they employ to handle compliance and regulation, and that the increased investment costs the industry U.S.$270bn a year and accounts for 10 percent of operating costs.
