He questioned whether traders met ethical standards and said that those who failed to meet high professional standards should face ostracism.
The folks in the big investment banks would learn that it's valuable to have an ethical culture, in which traders' behavior is restricted by something other than the desire to find the next sucker.
Cameron said while the bank had tried to impose ethical values on its traders, it could not control their behavior.
Of course most traders do not breach ethical boundaries like Mr. Kerviel, who doctored e-mail messages to hide his unauthorized trades.
The ethical bankruptcy of the CEOs, executives, and traders in these mega-banks, when combined with the lack of any real oversight, the perverse incentive structure, and political clout, all means we've taken a Great Leap Backward toward Mercantilism.
Recently launched out of beta, U.K. startup Shape wants to create a more educational trading experience for a new generation of traders, including those who might be concerned with the ethical standards of the sectors or companies they back.
But it's an emphasis on ethical investing that perhaps sets Shape apart, at least for inexperienced traders who would rather research and pick their own investments instead of putting their money into one of a number of ethical tracker funds.
This could mean putting together ethical walls that separate departments with conflicts of interest (such as analysts and traders) or creating "blacklists" of prohibited sites that may not be appropriate for the brand.
He had a long career on Wall Street as a bond trader where he was known for his superior trading and investment skills as well as his ethical standards.
The Kimberley process was designed to stem the flow of conflict diamonds, says Willie Nagel, an international diamond trader who was instrumental in setting it up, but "conflict-free diamonds should not be confused with ethical diamonds".
