(Reuters) - If the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes were to go out with his
lantern in search of an honest many 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 survey's release comes as the fallout from Barclays PLC's (LSE:BARC.L - News) Libor-rigging scandal continues and other banks including Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C - News), HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA.L - News), Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (LSE:RBS.L - News) and UBS AG (VTX:UBSN.VX - News) await the outcome of an industry-wide probe.
(Reporting By Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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