We've seen an increased level of anti-money laundering law enforcement action over the past six months. Standard Chartered and ING both faced nine-figure fines, and HSBC is rumored to be negotiating a record-setting $1 billion settlement. Still, it is unlikely that these fines create any kind of industry-wide measurable increase in AML compliance. Poorly complying with the law–or in HSBC's case, pretty much ignoring it–is just too tempting under the status quo. $1 billion would represent just 5% of HSBC's pre-tax profit, and it represents a rare, record-setting sum. After the Wachovia money laundering scandal, which featured remarkably similar behavior to HSBC's, the bank was fined just $50 million (plus $110 million in asset forfeiture) for almost $400 billion worth of illegal business.