How to Rein In Loose-Lipped Bankers? Hong Kong Tries to Figure It Out

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Hong Kong lacks guidelines on ‘market sounding,’ conversations banks have with investors before deals are public. Photo: TYRONE SIU/REUTERS Hong Kong is wrestling with a question troubling financial regulators around the world: How much should banks be able to tell investors about deals that are brewing? The city’s Securities and Futures Commission wants to tighten rules governing what banks and brokers can say to investors when discussing potential transactions, including bond and share sales. The move is an attempt to level the playing field among investors, by making sure that the largest have fewer chances to trade on sensitive information.