Bankers want traders to pass exams first
BANKS’ traders should have a basic level of qualifications before they are allowed to work, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) told chancellor George Osborne yesterday.
The industry has been rocked by a series of trading scandals, with traders colluding to attempt to fiddle inter-bank interest rate benchmark Libor and foreign exchange benchmarks.
“This is a once in a generation chance to clean up financial markets – we must seize it,” said BBA chief Anthony Browne.
“We want London to once again set the gold standard for fair dealing and integrity in financial markets. We want to make sure that all traders are professionally qualified, that existing codes of conduct are reformed and given teeth and an extension of new rules to increase personal accountability and responsibility of senior managers.”
Browne is not calling for a single qualification or certificate for banks’ traders, but does want regulators to give their approval to a set of exams or tests which would give staff a “licence to trade.”
The request is the BBA’s response to the Fair and Effective Markets Review, which is being run by the Treasury and Bank of England