It seems that hardly a month goes by where a bank isn't paying a huge settlement to a U.S. or European regulator over one misdeed or another. A billion here, a billion there, and as the saying goes, pretty soon you're talking real money. In total, the world's largest banks have racked up $178 billion in fines and settlements since the financial crisis in 2009, according to a new report from The Boston Consulting Group. For some perspective on how vast an amount of money that is, the Apollo program that put men on the moon and won the space race cost about $135 billion in today's dollars.

http://www.bankrate.com/financing/banking/big-banks-fines-hit-whopping-total/