擒获魔鬼交易员的“第22条军规”

    9月14日，瑞士联合银行（UBS）交易员奎库•阿多博利因涉嫌欺诈及账目造假被警方逮捕。

    每一位股票交易员都得面对“魔鬼交易”的巨大诱惑。授权交易就像一台复杂的、合法的老虎机，经常需要承担巨大的风险。那么，公司如保证招募道德员工既能信心十足地进行股票交易，又能抵挡住一掷千金进行违规交易的诱惑呢？

    瑞银交易员奎库•阿多博利便是身处这种两难境地的最新证明。9月15日，奎库•阿多博利被捕，现在正面临欺诈与账目造假两项指控。瑞银称，在过去三个月中，他一直私自进行未经授权的交易，给公司造成的损失高达23亿美元。

    这起事件让瑞银颜面尽失，因为这家银行最近刚刚彻查了其风险管理系统。但避免魔鬼交易并非易事。甫瀚咨询公司（Protiviti）休斯顿办事处的执行董事戴维•约翰逊称：“身处这个行业，没有人会愚蠢到相信，以为这种事绝不会发生在自己身上。”

    虽然我们对瑞银的安全防护措施知之不详，但作为一家银行，至少应该遵循下面几条最佳实践。首先，银行需要配备能够警示可疑交易的安全防护系统；其次，经理人需要审查下属的交易活动。每年或每隔一定时间，公司都应进行严格的内部审计，查找出公司内部哪些业务容易成为未授权交易的易发领域。公司甚至可以记录交易员通过办公室座机进行的通话。

    但除了运营上的安全防护之外，防范魔鬼交易还涉及公司的招聘与企业文化。聪明的交易员也会受到强烈心理冲动的驱使，做出错误的决定，使公司陷入险境。因此，经理人需要做的就是创造一种环境来抵消这种冲动。

    首先，这种工作需要员工有战胜市场的坚定信心。此外，约翰逊还认为，要成为一名优秀的交易员，还要让外界对自己的能力产生有如神话般的崇拜。“这个行业的人更愿意进行‘豪赌’，他们对此如鱼得水。”这样的环境充满了压力和竞争。

    UBS trader Kweku Adoboli was arrested on September 14 on charges of fraud and false accounting.

    For a trader playing the market, the temptation to "go rogue" is huge. Authorized trading is like a complicated, legal slot machine and requires the assumption of major risk on a regular basis. So, then, how do you fill your company with people who have the confidence to play the market but can also fight the temptation to throw good money after a bad trade?

    The latest example of this dilemma comes from UBS trader Kweku Adoboli, who was arrested on September 15 and is now facing charges of fraud and false accounting. UBS (UBS) says he covered up unauthorized trades over the past three months that lost the company $2.3 billion.

    This is particularly awkward for UBS as the bank recently overhauled its risk management system. Granted, preventing rogue trading is no easy task, "Nobody who's in this game would be foolish enough to believe that it couldn't happen to them," says David Johnson, managing director in consultancy firm Protiviti's Houston office.

    Without knowing the details of UBS' security measures, there are a couple of best practices banks should follow. Companies need to have security systems that flag suspicious trades, and on top of that, managers need to review trading activity. Every year or so, the company needs to do thorough internal audits to see which parts of their business may be vulnerable to unauthorized trading. Companies can even record conversations that traders have from their desk phones.

    But beyond operational security, preventing rogue trading is a question of hiring and corporate culture. Managers must create an environment that counteracts the powerful psychological forces that encourage smart traders to make bad decisions that put the company at risk.

    First off, the job selects for employees who believe they can beat the market. To be a good trader, you almost have to create a kind of mythology around your ability, says Johnson, "People who are in that business tend to be willing to place large bets, they're very comfortable with that," he says. The environment is high-pressure and competitive.