Wholesale banks are in the spotlight once again. LIBOR-fixing, derivative mis-selling and other scandals have reinforced supervisor attention on conduct standards. The conduct of wholesale banks towards clients and trading counterparties is under scrutiny and will be subject to increasing regulatory supervision.
This is underpinned, in part, by retail protection; retail consumers and investors can be harmed by poor conduct between sophisticated market participants.
This current focus on wholesale conduct of business is not just a passing fad. Banks cannot revert to the “everyone knows the rules of the game” mentality.
