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WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators on Tuesdayquestioned whether the Justice Department has been aggressiveenough in prosecuting misconduct at the largest banks and askedthe department to turn over information on how it determinespunishments.
Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who chairs a Senate Bankingsubcommittee, and Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on theSenate Judiciary Committee, said they were worried certain WallStreet banks enjoyed "too big to fail" status in enforcementpolicy, resulting in penalties that were disproportionately low.
The requests come amid renewed interest in whether U.S.authorities have held accountable the institutions andindividuals who contributed to the financial crisis.
In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the senatorsasked whether the Justice Department ever failed to prosecuteany institutions due to concern about the stability of thefinancial markets or imposed a penalty that reflected suchconcerns.
They also asked Holder to name outside experts thatprosecutors consulted in making decisions about chargingfinancial institutions with more than $1 billion in assets.Brown and Grassley also asked for copies of any contracts withsuch experts.
"Our markets will only function efficiently if participantsbelieve that all laws will be enforced consistently, and thatviolators will be punished to the fullest extent of the law,"the pair wrote. "There should not be one set of rules that applyto Wall Street and another set for the rest of us."
The DOJ has entered into several major settlements relatedto financial misconduct in recent months. HSBC agreedin December to pay $1.9 billion to resolve charges that itfailed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.In exchange for improving its compliance program, DOJ agreed todefer and eventually drop criminal charges.
Last month UBS agreed to pay some $1.5 billion andits Japan unit pleaded guilty to a criminal charge in connectionwith its role in manipulating benchmark interest rates.
A Justice Department spokeswoman did not immediately respondto a request for comment.
