Morning Coffee: 60 year-old structurer at BNP Paribas earned $60k a month. Morgan Stanley's Brexit plan

In theory, markets are a young man's game: most people on trading floors are under 30; few - if any - are over 40. If you want to last into your fifth decade and beyond in a securities-related role, you either need to be exceptionally good at trading or to be a part of management.

Philippe de Gentile appears to have been the latter. He spent eight years working for BNP Paribas, most recently as the Geneva-based global head of energy and commodities financing, a role for which he reportedly earned €52.9k ($53k) a month. 

De Gentile is attempting to sue his former employer for $3.2m; he claims that he was wrongfully dismissed after being "sacrificed" during an investigation into BNP's sanctions violations. Bloomberg reports that his gigantic monthly pay at Paribas elicited gasps of surprise when it was aired at a court hearing in Paris.

While $60k a month may seem huge to a Paris courtroom said by Bloomberg to, 'normally hear cases from mid-level managers making about a 10th of that', it could sound parsimonious to some senior markets professionals whose success is measured in an entirely different set of metrics. - Bank of America, for example, pays its New York-based co-head of global structured credit products $5.5m annually. Nonetheless, De Gentile was doing pretty well - especially for a 60 year-old guy working for a French bank in one of the most appealing, if expensive, cities in the world...

Separately, Morgan Stanley's Brexit plans look benign compared to some worst case predictions. The Sunday Times reports that  U.S. bank is making preparations to shift 'at least one sixth' of its current UK workforce to the likes of Frankfurt if Britain leaves the European Union. With 83% of jobs potentially remaining in situ, the implication is that London could remain Morgan Stanley's European base. 'At least' sounds ominous, though.

Meanwhile:

M&A banker fired from Credit Suisse aged 40 is having a fine time with own boutique. (Evening Standard) 

Canaccord tried to make its Canadian employees agree to give their bonuses back if they left within a year. Following a rebellion, it changed this to paying half in cash and half over three years. People are leaving anyway. (Globe and Mail)

FX trader? Wake up at 3am. (Traders Magazine)

In the year since HSBC announced it would “pivot to Asia,” HSBC’s shares have dropped 29%. (WSJ)

Ex-Merrill DCM bankers Giles Hutson and Paul Richards have set up Insignis Asset Management, a cash management firm targeting individuals and institutions with deposits of at least £100k. (Financial News)

The EU’s finance commissioner explains why Brexit is a bad idea. (Europa) 

Barclays' pot calls Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse black. (Bloomberg) 

Second year Goldman analysts got to pitch Lloyd Blankfein with ideas about charitable investing. Cue excitement.. (Business Insider) 

Wealth advisors at UBS will be paid more than before, but becoming one just got a lot harder. (Financial News)

Prime brokerage, what a great place to be. (Global Custodian) 

Donald Trump received a $5 million bonus in the year his company’s stock plummeted 70%. (Washington Post)

Photo: DAJ/Thinkstock