Hi there DanoffWhen we dealt with the RBA, there was an unspoken...

Hi there Danoff

When we dealt with the RBA, there was an unspoken confidentiality condition. Dealer, operations and settlement - everyone complied. Very often, the next desk wouldn't know about deals. To breach that understanding would mean exclusion from the RBA's panel of counterparties, which would mean exclusion for valuable market intelligence.

There was one occasion in 1990 when "instructions" did come from the RBA ensuring the support of a troubled competitor. We did as we were told without question, but we could see the reasons for it, so it wasn't a matter for debate.

I have never seen or heard of a dealer being ordered to break the law. If I had been put in that situation I would have resigned and blown the whistle. I wasn't being paid enough to wreck my career and my life by going to jail. I think that most of my colleagues would have agreed with me.

Cheers