A quarter of Wall Street professionals see wrongdoing as key to success

As reported by Reuters, many Wall Street professionals see wrongdoing as necessary.

 If the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes were to go out with his lantern in search of an honest man today, a survey of Wall Street executives on workplace conduct suggests he might have to look elsewhere. 

A quarter of Wall Street executives see wrongdoing as a key to success, according to a survey by whistleblower law firm Labaton Sucharow released on Tuesday. 

In a survey of 500 senior executives in the United States and the UK, 26 percent of respondents said they had observed or had firsthand knowledge of wrongdoing in the workplace, while 24 percent said they believed financial services professionals may need to engage in unethical or illegal conduct to be successful. 

Sixteen percent of respondents said they would commit insider trading if they could get away with it, according to Labaton Sucharow. And 30 percent said their compensation plans created pressure to compromise ethical standards or violate the law. 

"When misconduct is common and accepted by financial services professionals, the integrity of our entire financial system is at risk," Jordan Thomas, partner and chair of Labaton Sucharow's whistleblower representation practice, said in a statement.

The results of this survey are not surprising as they simply reflect that mentality captured by Yves Smith in her observation that nobody on Wall Street is compensated for creating transparent, low margin products.

With the Libor scandal, we have found out that even the Wall Street types working with low margin products game the financial system to enhance their personal income.