Tuesday’s Headlines: Energy Traders Leave Barclays on Bonus Woes

"Barclays spent a decade assembling a team of the most successful gas and power traders in Europe. It took less than 16 months to lose most of them,” reads a Bloomberg story today.

Seems the London-based bank’s new limit on bonuses is driving its star team of 12 traders to seek comps shelter at hedge funds. Geneva-based Mercuria Energy hired five members earlier this year. Another six left for UBS, Noble Group and Freepoint Commodities.

Insiders say the exodus is motivated by recently instated $103,000 cap on bonuses, limits on the amount of money traders can risk, shrinking revenue from the unit and the executive shakeup tied to the Libor scandal. Bloomberg reports that Barclays set itself up to poaching as its bonus cap is lower than rivals. Bank of America tops out at $150,000, and Deutsche and Morgan Stanley at $125,000. Also, Barclays trading restrictions are apparently more stringent.

 

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Hedge fund Capital Midwest thrives away from Silicon Valley. [Dealbook]

Credit Agricole’s profit falls 67 percent on losses in Greece. [Bloomberg]

Banks with $10 billion to $50 billion in assets get an extension to run Dodd-Frank stress tests. [Businessweek]

The acquisition of Hudson City Bancorp helps M&T Bank’s get its capital closer to regulation. [NY Times]

Wall Street’s leadership vacuum. [Businessweek]

Goldman CEO candidate Michael Evans bought an entire floor at 995 Fifth Ave. for $27 million. [NY Times]