City exposed as institutionally corrupt and morally bankrupt

A broker writes: "Behind the headline-grabbing stories of rogue traders losing billions, the more mundane, day-to-day world of high finance is as wild and unregulated today as it ever has been. Brown envelopes stuffed with £50 notes change hands every lunchtime in bars across the City; drugs wreak havoc with traders' judgments as they stake fortunes of their firms' money on the markets; and greed trumps all else in the stampede to get rich or die trying.

"For all the stock exchange is presented as a transparent, trustworthy great British institution, the truth is that everywhere corruption drips like honey.

"While insider trading - dealing stocks with the benefit of knowledge not available to the public - is strictly illegal, it is also so rife among City firms as to have become all but institutionalised.

"You trade first, ask questions later. If it all goes pear-shaped, if the stock falls instead of rises, there's always a pension fund or discretionary account that can take the hit for 50 grand or so. But if....you hit the jackpot, then screw the clients, this one's for the boys.

"The public might feel justice has been done when the likes of Nick Leeson and Jerome Kerviel are caught red-handed - but the truth is that they are just the tip of the iceberg."

It's a hard-hitting indictment of modern-day finance from a former City broker - an insider’s account of everyday insider trading, institutionalised corruption and greed on a grand scale. If you've got the stomach for it, you can read the full account here.