The US Futures Industry Association recently announced the latest inductees to its hall of fame. It is nice to recognise the contributions certain individuals make to an industry; I was particularly pleased to see that Juliette Proudlove, who sadly passed away last October, was among the inductees.
But, while it is right that we applaud those who do good things, I think it is important that we don’t forget those who do wrong. So I’m proposing an FX hall of shame. I have bought myself a little black book to write down the names of the market’s more shady characters – an interesting list made up of traders who disappeared after hiding a few too many deals in the bottom drawer, a few option traders who abused flaws in their models and systems, some point cashers and a couple of big wigs who are still plying their trade even though they are rotters.
Given the pressures of the libel laws that us journos have to work under, the list will likely remain hidden from print. But there’s a chance a couple of sherberts in private could prize a couple of names out of me...