Monday, 8 April 2013

It’s the same old song


IFormer Goldman Sachs trader Matthew Marshall Taylor has pleaded guilty to defrauding the bank with an $8.3bn (£5.5bn) unauthorised trade in 2007.

Taylor was dismissed in December 2007 after the incident, which resulted in a $118m loss for the Wall Street bank.

Yet again it is the familiar sorry story of a trader exceeding his position limit in pursuit of a large bonus with the management complicit through their own greed or ignorance.

It’s only the “epic losses” which get the publicity but there is no doubt that many similar situations where the financial fall-out has not been so spectacular have been quietly written off.

The banks are keen to talk about cultural change and a back to basics approach.

These statements are meant to allay the concerns of not only the shareholders but also the regulatory bodies.

However there is a world of difference between intent and action and there will undoubtedly be more “spectaculars” reported in the coming months. 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment