While Barclays has been fined £290m for its role in the manipulation of benchmark interest rates, HSBC faces fines of about $1bn for its failure to defend properly against money laundering in the US. Yet the market reaction against Barclays has been more severe: the bank's share price fell by 20 per cent compared to minimal movement for HSBC stock. Lex's Stuart Kirk and Oliver Ralph consider the reasons for the disparity.

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