指证券商为防止敏感信息资料在与一机构不同部门之间传递所采取的措施，一般要将交易、基金管理和融资部门的各类职能相互隔开。
The ethical barrier between different pisions of a financial (or other) institution to avoid conflict of interest. A Chinese Wall is said to exist, for example, between the corporate-advisory area and the brokering department of a financial services firm to separate those giving corporate advice on takeovers from those advising clients about buying shares. The "wall" is thrown up to pvent leaks of corporate inside information, which could influence the advice given to clients making investments, and allow staff to take advantage of facts that are not yet known to the general public.
Maintaining client confidentiality is crucial to any firm, but particularly large multiservice businesses. Where firms are providing a wide range of services, clients must be able to trust that information about themselves will not be exploited for the benefit of other clients with different interests. And that means clients must be able to trust in Chinese Walls. Some 华尔街 scandals in recent years, however, have made some people doubt the effectiveness of Chinese Walls, as well placed executives of respectable firms have traded illegally on inside information for their own benefit.