Would you employ Darren Morton and Christopher Parry? Thought not

Darren Morton and Christopher Parry, two bond traders at Dresdner Commerzbank have been found guilty of committing market abuse in relation to a 2007 sale of Barclays bonds. Although the two have had their knuckles rapped, neither are being a) fined a large amount of money, b) permanently banned from working in financial services.

The FSA has been left looking fairly flaccid as a result.

However, although Darren and Chris are now free to go on working across the City, they may find that their real punishment is still to come: nowhere of any importance will want to employ them.

"In theory, if you're banned for a year or get censured you should have served your time," says an ex-head of HR at an international bank. "However, I know of a couple of people who've been in this situation and they're no longer able to work at a big house because of the reputational risk associated with them."

There are, obviously, exceptions. Barclays Capital, for example, is thought to have hired John Redmond, the drunken Morgan Stanley trader who placed a trade every 8 seconds for 2 and half hours after a long lunch. However, it's also thought to have let go of him fairly sharply once the case hit the headlines.

The head of HR at a US bank says smaller and 'more entrepreneurial' places might be more inclined to hire the likes of Darren and Christopher should they choose to leave Commerz. In some cases, he says larger banks might even think the two would be worth taking a risk on as they're unlikely to repeat their mistake.

On the whole, however, he says the two are likely to be avoided, particularly as the case has become fairly high profile. "If you're a hiring manager and you have alternatives who are as good, you'll probably go for someone else so that you don't have the FSA looking over your shoulder."