6.25.2009

Wall Street has hired a Kool-Aid maker…

PR campaign intends to patch a hole by applying a coat of whitewash

According to a Bloomberg report (the link comes via Zero Hedge):

Wall Street's largest trade group has started a campaign to counter the "populist" backlash against bankers, enlisting two former aides to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to spearhead the effort.
In memos of confidential meetings with top financial executives, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said it began this month the "execution phase" of the operation, which pledges to "embrace change" and accountability. The plan targets policy makers and the media in New York, London, Washington and Brussels and calls for a "city-by-city, grass roots" approach.
The securities industry "must be perceived as part of the solution, which will allow it to better defend against populist overreaction," the documents, prepared for a June 17 meeting of SIFMA's board, said.
One obvious question: Why would SIFMA and its clients believe a grass roots approach might work when the popular backlash it wishes to counter can be considered the manifestation of a popular consensus that reflects a widespread type of experience?

On the other hand, everyone involved is not so gullible as to believe that image management will work:

The [SIFMA] group's polling "indicated that there is a lot of anger out there and feelings that the industry is not focused," the minutes said. While "Wall Street and CEOs" received low scores, local banks and brokers got better marks.
The outside consultants join SIFMA staff for a daily 10:00 a.m. conference call, "given the importance, complexity and real-time nature of the campaign style-implementation," according to one of the memos.
Still, that kind of approach may not be enough for Wall Street to lift its reputation, said Bill Brown, a visiting professor at Duke University School of Law in Durham, North Carolina.
"It's right for them to try to come back from this, but they have to realize that they are not going to be reborn into what they were," said Brown, who was global co-head of listed derivatives at Morgan Stanley. "The best P.R. comes from doing good, not from having to manage your image."

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