The only real story here is whether the sentence would hint at criminal culpability by bank. It didn't, but they weren't actually on trial. The bank already got

The only real story here is whether the sentence would hint at criminal culpability by bank. It didn't, but they weren't actually on trial. The bank already got fined for lax controls by the regulator--a civil matter, but they were not left unpunished. The trader will never pay restitution, cannot be jailed for that, and everybody including the court knew that. People always waste energy wanting to demonize or glorify when they should analyze. It is not hard for me to believe that bank managers could be clueless rather that criminal. Let's hear one suggestion that will prevent such cases in the future. This case strikes me as similar to the Joe Jett/Kidder Peabody case a few years earlier. Self-deluded trader, weak accounting system, lax controls, clueless manager. Result: A big loss that destroyed the bank. Banks have far more privacy in their financial life than individuals. I think we need to rethink how well closed information systems (like a bank) serve us as individuals and society.