What is a chinese wall?

A Chinese wall is a term used to describe the separation between two areas of a business or organization to maintain confidentiality and prevent conflicts of interest.

The concept of a Chinese wall originated from the ancient Great Wall of China, which was built to protect the Chinese empire from invasions. In modern times, the term is used to describe physical and virtual barriers that separate different departments or individuals within a company, such as a firewall in a computer system.

Chinese walls are commonly used in the financial industry to separate legal, compliance and risk management from other departments such as sales and trading. This ensures that confidential information, such as insider information about a company, is not shared between individuals who could potentially profit from it.

Overall, Chinese walls play an important role in maintaining ethical practices within a company and reducing the risk of conflicts of interest.