Lunchtime Links: Lloyd Blankfein falls foul of several malicious rumours
Never let it be said that bankers are collegial types who club together in the face of the common political enemy.
Despite rumours of laughter at the private meeting between bankers and regulators at Davos, 'senior bankers' attending the forum seem to have made Lloyd Blankfein the subject of several nasty rumours, which are surfacing in the media only now.
Nasty rumour number one involves the allegation by a 'banker at one of Goldman's rivals', that LB will be earning $100m this year, thereby 'thumbing his nose at Obama.'
Nasty rumour number two is that a 'senior London-based investment banker' is betting millions of pounds that Lloyd will be out within two years.
And nasty rumour number three is that Jamie Dimon and Lloyd B scuppered a deal to limit pay and bonuses agreed by 'the world's leading banks' at Davos last year.
Number three may be true. Numbers one and two are probably not. Goldman Sachs is not happy about them. The Wall Street Journal reports that Goldman PR person Lucas Van Praag got very uppity when number two was suggested to him, spitting, "It is preposterous that The Wall Street Journal would even consider publishing such effluent."
The City of London has lost senior staff equivalent to the population of Weybridge over the past two years. (The Times)
Commerzbank lets go its fund of hedge funds staff. (Wall Street Journal)
Even after netting off 500bn of derivatives, BarCap is still about 25 times leveraged. (Financial Times)
Bankers in China are really badly paid. (Wall Street Journal)
"Bankers and investment bankers in Tokyo are still respected." (CNBC)
Singapore should depend less on foreign workers. (Bloomberg)
"We can be certain ETF frauds are developing now." (Guardian)
"It is like trying to regulate a Ferrari with a skateboard." (Telegraph)
Volcker does the NYT. (New York Times)
George Osborne favours punitive capital requirements for banks with prop trading arms. (Guardian)
Citi plans to sell its private equity unit. (Alphaville)
"We've created a group of sleep-deprived stressed people at the very top." (DealBook)
