Bankers Not to Watch at Davos
Many of the biggest names in finance have gassed up their private jets and helicopters to make their annual pilgrimage to Davos, a small city in Switzerland where they’ll join central bankers and politicians to discuss the state of the global economy. But while they’re drinking champagne and taking in symposiums on the economic benefits on mega sporting events (an actual panel), many of the finance world’s market movers are back at the office burning the midnight oil.
An annual event “committed to improving the state of the world,” the World Economic Forum brings together more than 2,500 leaders, most of who use the event as a soapbox to spread their message to an all-too-accommodating media, according to Quartz.
Many of the real influencers didn’t bother to fork over the $40,000 attendance and travel fee to talk politics. Eight of the 10 banking and finance executives to watch in 2013, as ranked by eFC, will not attend the event. The only two – Citigroup Chief Executive Michael Corbat and Anshu Jain, co-CEO of Deutsche Bank – are sharing the limelight with Nobel Prize winners, prime ministers and poets.
Others such as Gaël de Boissard, co-head of investment banking at Credit Suisse, and Isabelle Ealet, co-head of securities at Goldman Sachs, remain in the office, suggesting that the WEF may be more of a media event than anything else.
Former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White is likely to be nominated as the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. As the first prosecutor to run the SEC, White could make the Wall Street watchdog even more formidable.
A judge has rejected a request by Barclays’ employees to strike their names from disclosures that will be used in a U.K. trial related to Libor manipulation claims.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is considering splitting its investment bank into two divisions, a move predicated by the likely departure of i-banking head John Hourican.
There are three likely candidates to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke when he steps down: current vice chairman Janet Yellen, outgoing Treasury head Timothy Geithner and Richard Fisher, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Junior Staff Needed (Financial News)
An U.K. advisory firm established by brothers Michael and Yoel Zaoui, two highly-regarded veteran investment bankers, has won approval from the Financial Services Authority. Zaoui Capital is now on the lookout for a “pool of junior staff.”
Spanish banks are set to lay off thousands. In response, bankers plan to strike. Not showing up to work to rally against being fired seems an odd choice.
Andrew Tinney, chief operating officer at Barclays’ private investment division, is no longer with the firm. Tinney reportedly destroyed a damning report revealing the U.K. bank’s “out of control” culture and then misled regulators and chief executive Antony Jenkins about the existence of the document.
Buzz Around the Office
Numerous Statements of My Mobile Number (BuzzFeed)
If you’ve ever experienced the pains caused by Google Translate, this rendition of “Call Me Maybe” is for you. It still makes more sense than anything written by Jim Morrison.
List of the Day: Career Advancement
Here are three easy ways to advance your career.
1. Be low maintenance.
2. Pick your battles.
3. Hire intelligent people over well-trained people.
