There are sufficient existing biases against women & minorities, and also a vast, vast pool of qualified candidates while the industry itself is very small. Financial sector is ultra concerned with things like status and reputation - appearances MATTER. If they are forced to adjust to quotas, they'll be far from scraping the bottom of the barrel - they can choose the creme of the crop as they've been and still find a sizeable pool or more than acceptable candidates.

for full disclosure, I work in a financial services group. Were these quotes instituted, it wouldn't affect our group at all - we're already well-balanced. Incidentally, it is a GREAT group and a great place to work.

In a nutshell, the premise of the article - the "less competent" bit - is just air.