Aux marges de la triche ? Innovation normative et déontologie financière en salle de marché

The compliance function, today a cornerstone of the control system in place within financial services providers, acts as an «instant legislator» that produces norms when legal or regulatory texts do not match practical contexts faced by market operators. Compliance officers can be described as compasses that guide the choices and actions performed by traders, and therefore legitimate market practices. As frame-makers, they contribute to the institutionalization of non-fraudulent practices within given contexts, not only by controlling or sanctioning, but rather through discussing and interpreting situations, with regards to the texts available. This research draws on a long-lasting participant observation within a brokerage house and shows, with a few examples, how regulation is produced in the field. We conclude that in most cases, the identification of fraud is not easy to perform, and rests on the kind of hermeneutical view that is conducted