LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Big banks usually do everything they can to avoid accepting legal culpability. Convicted entities could lose U.S. operating licenses. Hence the proliferation of criminal halfway-houses like HSBC’s (HSBA.L), (0005.HK) 2012 deferred prosecution agreement. Britain’s NatWest (NWG.L), worth 26 billion pounds, bucked the trend on Thursday by admitting that it had failed to prevent 365 million pounds of money laundering between 2013 and 2016 read more . The key difference is that pleading guilty in Britain won’t jeopardise NatWest’s banking license, according to people familiar with the case. On the contrary, it could even reduce the size of its penalty. A lawyer for Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority is demanding a 340 million pound fine. The sentencing judge will probably opt for a much lower number, not least because legal guidelines call for a one-third reduction in cases where defendants admit guilt straight away. Nor is it in the FCA’s interest to destabilise a systemically important bank majority-owned by taxpayers. That makes NatWest’s pleas pleasing on all fronts. (By Liam Proud) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Capital Calls - More concise insights on global finance: Debt woes crash China Inc. luxury dream read more Facebook’s pristine whistleblower read more Hearing aid giant pays up to tune into youngsters read more Manchester United owners cash in on Ronaldo bounce read more Tui makes cocksure bet on tourism rebound read more