In HSBC’s settlement with the U.S. Government, the bank has
to pay $1.9 billion—about half a quarter’s profit—but avoids criminal charges.
The New York Times quotes government officials who said they were hesitant to
indict the bank because formal charges could mean bankruptcy, which in turn
could roil the financial system itself owing to the bank being too big to fail.
That is to say, one of the advantages of being TBTF is apparently that of
effective immunity from criminal charges.
The full essay is in Cases of Unethical Business, which is available at Amazon.