We're all in this together

I'm no tax lawyer, but I think generally you can't include criminal misconduct fines in your calculation of any losses for corporation tax purposes. Amounts have to be "wholly laid out or expended for the purposes of the trade or profession" or "connected with or arising out of the trade or profession" to constitute losses. Fines for regulatory breaches are generally not considered to fall within these parameters and would be considered contrary to public policy. That said I have seen a few civil tribunal decisions that seem to have muddied the water (I think McClaren F1 got away with offsetting nearly £32mil resulting from fines). Even if you can't include fines as losses, I've no idea if you can include compensation you are ordered to pay out to individuals as a result of your misconduct. Regardless this is a practice that has been enshrined in law since before 1960, so carrying forward losses is nothing new or surprising despite the headlines. The bit that grates is where (like DB) the bank reports losses in the UK but huge profits in Lux.