Wall Street Execs Think Criminal Activity Is Part Of Job Description

No surprises here:

A survey of senior executives at financial firms in the U.S. and the U.K., released Monday, found that nearly a quarter of respondents, or 24%, said they consider engaging in unethical or illegal conduct as a necessary ingredient for success in the financial world.

Another 26% said they had either seen or had direct knowledge of wrongdoing.

Worse, 16% of execs admitted they would willingly step over the legal line and commit insider trading — if they knew they could get away with it.

Results of the study, commissioned by law firm Labaton Sucharow, were compiled by anonymously interviewing 500 financial professionals online.

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The study also found that 30% of respondents felt pressured by their big-buck salaries and bonuses to compromise their ethics or even break the law.

And nearly four in 10, or 39%, felt that their competitors are likely to engage in illegal or unethical activities to get ahead.

No wonder they felt cool to rig LIBOR.

No wonder they get pissed whenever anybody says it's time to "reform" the financial system.

A quarter of Wall Streeters admit that breaking the law is crucial to success in the financial world.

And another 26% said they had either seen or had direct knowledge of criminal activity on the Street.

And those are the ones who admit the truth.

You have to think some of those surveyed didn't.

A rotten, filthy cesspool.

And now they bring their ethics, compensation structure, and evaluation systems to public education.