From 2005 to 2015, the 25 largest global financial institutions paid combined more than $285 billion in legal penalties. We examine the reaction of banks' stocks, bonds, and credit default swaps to the announcements of monetary penalties. We observe a reduced default risk and lower financing costs, as well an increase in the stock market valuation, suggesting that banks benefit from settling lawsuits. The positive reaction is likely driven by the resolution of uncertainty surrounding these proceedings. While the sued bank's systemic risk increases in the size of the relative monetary penalty, we also document positive spillover effects to other banks facing pending lawsuits with the same plaintiff, demonstrating the systemic effect of law enforcement against banks. Furthermore, banks appear to correctly anticipate penalties, as they are cash flow-effective but not income-effective in the year they are announced.

从2005年到2015年，全球25个最大的金融机构共支付了超过2850亿美元的法律罚金。我们研究了银行的股票，债券和信用违约掉期对宣布罚款的反应。我们观察到违约风险降低，融资成本降低以及股票市场估值提高，这表明银行可以从和解诉讼中受益。积极的反应可能是由围绕这些程序的不确定性解决所驱动的。虽然被起诉银行的系统性风险在相对罚款额方面有所增加，但我们也证明了对其他面临与原告提起诉讼的银行的溢出效应，证明了执法对银行的系统性影响。此外，银行似乎正确预期了罚款，因为它们在宣布当年的现金流量有效，但对收入无效。