Lunchtime Links: Senior UBS banker confesses stinginess; Libya nearly became a major shareholder in Goldman Sachs
Don't expect to make a lot of money in the back and middle office. Especially don't expect to make a lot of money in the back and middle office at UBS private bank.
The Wall Street Journal has interviewed
Juerg Zeltner, head of UBS's private-banking arm, and Juerg has confessed that he can be described as "stingy when it comes to non-client facing staff."
To this end, Zeltner says he's looking at shifting some back and middle office jobs out of Switzerland and into Asia. Nor is he willing to spend lavishly in the front office: he says he won't hire the extra 500 private client advisors UBS wants globally at "any price."
Zeltner also says client activity has been "dire" in recent weeks as rich clients haven't been trading and that he thinks UBS's private bank will always need the investment bank.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal has an incredible story on how, during 2009, Libya's sovereign wealth fund nearly became one of the biggest shareholders in Goldman Sachs. The WSJ says Goldman gave Libya the opportunity to invest $3.7bn in the firm to compensate for a 98% loss in some previous Goldman-arranged trades.
To begin with, the WSJ says the inexperienced Libyans were overcome with excitement at meeting people employed by Goldman Sachs - especially Driss Ben-Brahim, Goldman's Arabic-speaking emerging-markets trading chief, who was like a "rock star." However, after the Libyans lost 98% of their investment, things changed. The sovereign wealth fund's deputy chairman then became like a "raging bull" and the Goldman emissaries were swiftly obliged to employ security until they left the country. Subsequent attempts to induce Libya to invest in Goldman fizzled out.
And finally, it has emerged that Citigroup plans to make 150 markets hires in Asia this year as part of its multi-year 500 person Institutional Clients Unit hiring spree.
Citi has been hiring aggressively in prime brokerage. (Financial Times )
Why did JPMorgan just upgrade Goldman Sachs? (BusinessInsider)
The senior ranks of Deutsche Bank are on the verge of open warfare. (Reuters )
Mr Ackermann appears increasingly opposed to the idea that the next CEO should be Mr Jain. (Financial Times)
"A dual CEO structure where Jain takes care of internal management and someone like Axel Weber takes care of external relations could make a lot of sense." (Financial Times )
Nomura's head of fixed income research is leaving less than two years after joining. (Financial News )
"I don't think I've ever met more people who are highly trained and unhappy in banking -- except when it comes to the money." (Bloomberg)
"Of course hedge funds add value to society." (Telegraph)
The Bank of England spends 250k a year on chauffeur driven 'secure cars.' (Telegraph)
Mervyn King claimed a 26 senior railcard on expenses. (Telegraph)
How to fail well. (LeadershipFreak)
Norman Broadbent is poaching financial services headhunters. (Evening Standard)
