With its
incentive-structure that rewards a quick profit on the next trade even at the
expense of advising clients in line with their
long-term interests, Wall Street has its work cut out for itself even in
maintaining trust, which, after all, is the basis of a market. On March 15,
2012, the New York Times reported that over all, “the percentage of people who
have little or no faith in the fairness of investment companies rose to 41
percent in 2011 from 26 percent in 2008, according to Yankelovich Monitor 2011.”
Even banks and insurance companies fared better, and household income played no
role in the findings. At the time, Goldman Sachs was doing its industry no
favors in terms of reputation. Indeed, the “best and the brightest” on Wall
Street had created or enabled a rather narrow and self-serving corporate
culture and a lack of ethical leadership that could otherwise turn around the bank
by transforming its dysfunctional culture.
