Wall St mulls over registry of bankers' misdeeds

Washington

BANKERS' misdeeds would be catalogued, by name, on a private registry for hiring managers under a proposal that's gaining traction as Wall Street firms struggle to restore reputations damaged by the financial crisis and the Libor and foreign-exchange scandals.

When traders or bankers leave a firm, any instances in which they've violated the firm's ethics or conduct rules would be listed on a central database, allowing prospective employers to see their records before deciding whether to hire them. The concept, promoted by Federal Reserve Bank of New York president William Dudley following a similar plan in the UK, is aimed at stopping offenders from moving easily between banks.