Trying to downplay your culpability after a settlement with regulators is a very bad idea. Just ask Sir John Peace, chairman of Standard Chartered, the UK bank. His public shaming is a useful lesson for which financial firms everywhere should be grateful.
Well, that didn’t last very long. After howling in indignation over accusations it laundered money for Iran, Standard Chartered bank caved in, agreeing to a whopping $340 million settlement with New York’s Department of Financial Services.
Peter Sands, CEO of U.K. bank Standard Chartered, got to live the fantasy of every bank CEO whose institution is accused of wrongdoing by regulators. He hit back. You could almost hear the cheering erupt from Wall Street and the City of London. But will his defense hold?