Recently HSBC admitted to laundering money for Drug dealers and terrorists, and Lanny Breuer, an Assistant Attorney General, decided not to file criminal charges. Instead they chose to fine the company of one weeks worth of profit.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/outrageous-hsbc-sett...
This level of fine is just considered the cost of business. In other words the rewards are worth more then the fine so why not perform the illegal activity.
What should happen is every one of their U.S. anti-money laundering and compliance officers should be arrested and have all of their assets seized, the bank fined 80% of their profit of the years they have admitted to laundering money for or about $395 BILLION