To Catch a Bankster

Traditional investigations by regulators of all the suspect hanky-panky in the banking industry have produced nothing in the way of fundamental reform and protected the worst repeat offenders. So why not bribe big bankers to turn one another in?

Greed is the engine that led America and the rest of the world into our freewheeling capitalist wilderness, says Leo Gerard at AlterNet. So why not harness that same power to drive our way out? Polls suggest that most banking executives would roll over on others if given the proper incentive.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

Leo Gerard at AlterNet:

Earlier this month, a survey of 500 American and British financial services executives found that a quarter of them had seen wrongdoing in the workplace and believed it was essential to success. But here’s the most important figure: 94 percent said they’d report wrongdoing if shielded from reprisal and guaranteed financial rewards.

… Regulators should be equipped with even bigger bribes than they’ve got now to encourage banksters to rat each other out.

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