Higher Legal Liabilities Ahead For UK Banks

U.K. companies’ legal liabilities soared 12 percent in 2013, driven by the hefty fines slapped on the banking sector, according to Thomson Reuters’ legal business.

FTSE 100-listed companies set aside £24.6 billion ($40.5 billion) in 2013 to deal with complaints and lawsuits, up from £22.1 billion in 2012.

“There is a perception that regulators and government have responded to public pressure to show no mercy for large corporates that have been caught breaching laws and regulations,” Raichel Hopkinson, head of dispute resolution at Thomson Reuters, said in a news release.

“Businesses hope that as the U.K. economy grows and memory of the recession fades that they will face lower levels of legal risk but that hasn’t happened yet,” she added.

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