Deutsche Bank traders are in danger of defecting to BofA. Michele Foresti has found a way to deter them. And directors in London can't afford two children.

Morning Coffee: How Colin Fan is keeping traders at Deutsche Bank. London bankers can't afford 2nd child

by Sarah Butcher

13 October 2014

4 minute read

Morning Coffee: How Colin Fan is keeping traders at Deutsche Bank. London bankers can't afford 2nd child

Colin Fan - Deutsche doesn't want badly behaving traders

Colin Fan, co-head of investment banking at Deutsche Bank, has hit upon an inspired method of preventing Deutsche Bank's top fixed income traders from quitting. Anyone who follows Michele Foresti to Bank of America or who quits for hedge funds or other non-regulated entities is guilty of bad behaviour and greed, implies Fan.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Fan says Deutsche has experienced some leakage of traders since he made his May video. In that video, Fan stated that Deutsche would no longer tolerate traders who are, "boastful, indiscreet or vulgar." Deutsche isn't mourning its quitters. The traders who've left didn't fit into the "new [non-boastful, discrete and non-vulgar] banking environment," says Fan. They were bad sorts. - They weren't "team players." - They were, "purely financially driven." According to Fan's strategic narrative, any traders escaping Deutsche are flawed characters. That seems a fair method of persuading his remaining people to stay.

Separately, a banker's wife has suggested that some London-based financial services professionals can't afford two children. Writing in the Times, the anonymous banking spouse bemoaned the widening Pikettyesque gulf between the working rich (bankers) and the super-rich (billionaires and their pretenders). Bankers can't keep up. "One friend, a director at a City bank, is making a choice on whether to have a second child, knowing he cannot afford a bigger house or school fees for two children," she disclosed. "It is absurd for me to see my friends, in families with two incomes from big City banks of £500,000, unable to buy a property in central London," she added, saying that many bankers are being forced to leave vacate top central London postcodes and move to the suburbs. At least there they can be close to good state schools where their children can be educated for free.

Meanwhile:

If you work in M&A, you are a bit like a plumber or an accountant. - You're reliant on fee income and can never make really huge amounts of money. (Financial Times)

Commerzbank is moving M&A bankers from London to Frankfurt. (Reuters)

HSBC wants to hire 35 people for its banking and global markets division. It's hiring at all levels and seems to be focusing on M&A, where it's revamping coverage of financial institutions. financial sponsors and the public sector. (Financial News)

Elliott Advisors, an 'aggressive US hedge fund' just paid someone at its London office £38m. That person was probably either Keith Horn (56), chief operating officer, or Jonathan Pollock (51), chief trading officer. (Sunday Times)

Want to work in a hot area? Try cyber-security. Jamie Dimon says JPMorgan will be doubling its $250k cyber-security spend over the next five years. (Bloomberg)

Chris Brown, an ex-mining analyst for Evolution Securities has done very well for himself. He set up 'London Mining' in 2005. The company listed in 2007 and bought a mine in Brazil. It then flipped that mine to Arcelor Mittal in 2009 for £430m. Brown made £40m in the process and retired age 46. Unfortunately, 'London Mining' was unable to work its magic in his absence and went into receivership this weekend. (Sunday Times)

Boris Johnson wants to restrict EU immigration into the UK. This would be very bad for the City. (AdamSmith)

Paul Taubman's boutique is being merged with Blackstone's spun-off advisory business. Colm Kelleher may be feeling a little sick. (DealBook)

Archbishop of Canterbury is inviting budding bankers aged 20-35 to take a year out in 'God's time'. The year will be spent praying, studying ethics and helping the poor. (Financial Times)

UBS's London offices are overrun with mice. (Financial News)

Andrea Orcel at UBS looks like George Clooney. He wears Salvatore Ferragamo ties and consults his wife Clara about big career moves. (New York Times)

CFA Institute releases information on June exam horrors. Big bonuses at Morgan Stanley?

4 new U.S. firms hiring investment bankers in London. Finance jobs for slackers

Barclays asks its juniors to name 3 nasty VPs and MDs . Goldman gave internship to client’s relative

AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

1 comments

an
anonymous
13 October 2014
Bankers have bought too much into the poverty mindset if people with £500,000 of income cannot afford a second child.This is absurd! People with much lower income have a second and even a third child! Wait a minute - yes, this means some sacrifice on their behalf, but this doesn't apply to some of the egocentric "City sapiens" (who actually have already sacrificed their lives to power and money). I once bought into the ideas that this article is spreading. Today I am out of the matrix as I had a wake up call. Hope more people realise how crazy this sounds.
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