Wednesday’s news that the parent organizations of five of the world’s biggest banks will plead guilty to rigging global currency markets rattled the financial markets. But it also raised concerns about whether fines and settlements are effective deterrents to fraudulent behavior. The five banks will pay the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Reserve fines totaling $5.6 billion as they agreed to plead guilty to colluding to manipulate currency and interest rate markets. Yet, they could continue to do business as usual, thanks to settlement terms and waivers against stiffer actions from the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “For the banks, though, life as a felon is likely to carry more symbolic shame than practical problems,” a New York Times article noted, explaining that the banks secured exemptions, waivers and settlements from regulators to conduct business usual.…