While Wall Street publicly is dismantling its dedicated proprietary trading desks, some veterans of the Street are skeptical that the banks will really stop trading with their own money. They say banks could continue making house bets by disguising proprietary trading as making markets for clients. House bets, when they are mixed with client trades, are more difficult for regulators to detect. “To me, it is all smoke and mirrors,” one former Goldman managing director said. “The truth is that most of the position-taking occurs at the market-making level.” [Reuters]

Comments (19)

  1. Posted by Wazo | October 7, 2010 at 4:13 PM

    Speaking of Goldman, thoughts on CNBC’s special last night?

  2. Posted by Leiutenant Obvious | October 7, 2010 at 4:14 PM

    So rules made by people who don’t understand finance are proving nonsensical/unenforceable? Wow. Next someone will tell me that it’s going to be difficult to determine if, under the new securitization rules, an issuer is really maintaining it’s mandatory 5% retained part “unhedged.”

  3. Posted by indridcold | October 7, 2010 at 4:16 PM

    sucked. GS rolls with the media the way DiCaprio rolls with his women.

  4. Posted by Guest | October 7, 2010 at 4:22 PM

    nucky wouldn’t stand for this

  5. Posted by Anonymous | October 7, 2010 at 4:43 PM

    This would never have happened if it weren’t for the economies, the shorting sellers, and other things i seen when i was looking at TV.

    -M. Street
    Flint, MI

  6. Posted by Aunt Millie | October 7, 2010 at 4:48 PM

    And don’t forget those credit card default swats!

  7. Posted by Guest | October 7, 2010 at 4:49 PM

    on the dvr… will report later.

  8. Posted by Anonymous | October 7, 2010 at 4:53 PM

    I think Fannie and Freddie had something to do with this as well. Where are the two of them hiding?

    http://proposition13.blogspot.com/2010/10/packetmotion-superfluidity.html

  9. Posted by Anonymous | October 7, 2010 at 4:58 PM

    This is the only instance I can recall wherein knee-jerk government regulations have failed to achieve their intended objectives.

    - Paul Sarbanes

  10. Posted by Aaron Gell | October 7, 2010 at 5:06 PM

    “publically”?

  11. Posted by Anonymous | October 7, 2010 at 5:08 PM

    That’s not even the worst of it; with cold weather fast approaching we’re almost certain to see the reemergence of shorts cellars and other nefarious Wall Street clothing storage facilities.

  12. Posted by xel | October 7, 2010 at 5:12 PM

    mind blowing stuff Bess

  13. Posted by Guest | October 7, 2010 at 5:17 PM

    I think I’m going back to sleep/work. Wake me when something happens.

  14. Posted by Albert R. DiCaprio, CFA | October 7, 2010 at 5:24 PM

    Damn straight.

  15. Posted by Guest | October 7, 2010 at 5:42 PM

    Don’t forget Goldman Sack and all of the CEOs of the Treasury Department.

    - M. Waters, Compton, CA

  16. Posted by Genius | October 7, 2010 at 5:45 PM

    hence the sarcastic use of the term ‘breaking’

  17. Posted by Guest | October 7, 2010 at 6:24 PM

    Yup, it would help to use the usual “breaking news” flashing lights above the title next time. I almost missed this in my rush to read about Cliff.

  18. Posted by Mr. Market | October 7, 2010 at 6:30 PM

    If I see one more of your meaningless comments with a link to a penny-stock pumping blog, I’m going to hunt you down and send a foot through your screen.

    - Everyone here

  19. Posted by ace | October 7, 2010 at 11:12 PM

    in FI flow if you have no view on a bond you just pick it up from an IDB and do a trade flat with no PnL to keep clients happy and make sure you’re in the flow. If you have a view on it, you buy it for book or short it. Thats how flow desks work, but thats not exactly new…..

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