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.<br /><br />For more commentary from the Lex team, visit http://www.ft.com/lex <br /><br />http://www.FT.com/
