More tremors in the firmament -- Wall Street is cracking down on ethics.
March 29, 2005
The New York Times
On Wall Street, a Rise in Dismissals Over Ethics
By LANDON THOMAS Jr
The opening of this story reads like a spy thriller. The nervous bankers described here could have been hauled in front of the Bulgarian mafia. Instead, it was bank lawyers and regulators. And the difference is?
Two senior investment bankers at Bank of America were summoned to a meeting this month where their boss, visibly uncomfortable and flanked by bank lawyers, read them a statement. They were both dismissed and asked to leave the building immediately. The decision was final.
Stunned, the bankers asked if they had broken any regulations. No, they were told. Nor had they traded on any inside information. Within the hour, they had turned in their BlackBerrys and laptops and were on their way home to the suburbs.
You know that game some people play with fortune cookie messages? Instead of mocking the AP for their dunderheaded decision to goose the truth, I'm trying it their way today.
Kids, this is a fun game you can try at home. Enhance stories like these, where one can easily twist reality just a little and substitute one key element for something more exciting. Today's game is called Widely Sniplash, in which we switch one key villain while retaining the original protraganist. So, for example:
Two senior investment bankers at Bank of America were summoned to a meeting this month where their boss, visibly uncomfortable and flanked by renegade Bulgarian secret police. After hours of torture, they were both dismissed and asked to leave the building immediately. The decision was final.
Stunned, the bankers asked if they had broken any of the mob's unwritten laws or regulations. No, they were told. Nor had they traded on any inside information. Within the hour, they had turned in their BlackBerrys and laptops and were on their way home to the suburbs. There they were ruthlessly murdered.
See how easy?
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