Morning Coffee: Here's who's leaving investment banks now. Deutsche's dubious new strategy

Senior fixed income salespeople can step aside: a new breed of esteemed banker is taking their place as the victims of sudden retirement - M&A bankers. Yesterday, three senior UK M&A bankers at three different major investment banks called it a day.

First-up was Richard Campbell-Breeden of Goldman Sachs. A former co-head of UK investment banking with 27 years assiduous service behind him, Campbell-Breedon was most recently a senior client coverage banker for Goldman in EMEA. Coincidentally (or not), his exit coincides with Goldman's partner promotion process, during which current partners are often ushered away to make way for new ones.

Second-up was Michael Findlay, Bank of America's co-head of investment banking for the U.K. and Ireland. Like Campbell-Breeden, Findlay was an M&A veteran: he'd worked for BAML for 15 years. Bloomberg reported that he's leaving for the UK corporate sector, but didn't say where or what he intends to do upon arrival.

Lastly, Ian Fisher, country head of UK banking for SocGen is being displaced by Sadia Ricke. Ricke is becoming SocGen's group country head for the UK and head of the coverage and investment banking division as of January. Fisher isn't actually leaving banking, or even leaving SocGen, but he is leaving M&A. Once Ricke arrives, Fisher will stop meeting clients and running deals and head SocGen's new 'culture and conduct programme.'

Why the sudden M&A exodus? Maybe senior M&A are fed up after an unexciting year for European dealmakers? Maybe they just can't be bothered in a world where bonuses are deferred for years? May culture programmes are easier work? Or maybe banks simply can't afford them any more? Either way, it's worth keeping an eye out for other senior M&A exits in the weeks ahead. Three senior M&A bankers leaving in one day is notable. If the same thing happens again, it will look like a rout.

Separately, Deutsche Bank has reportedly got a plan for bolstering its capital as it contemplates the punitively large fine from the U.S Justice Department. Bloomberg reports that the German bank plans to, 'securitize billions of dollars of corporate loans to offload risk.' Deutsche will create a synthetic collateralized loan obligation that will allow it to transfer risk to investors while servicing the loans itself, says Bloomberg. Because that kind of thing worked so well in the past...

Meanwhile:

Marshall Wace is betting against Deutsche Bank. (Bloomberg) 

British prime minister Theresa May is meeting senior bankers from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in New York. Boris Johnson will be in attendance. (Financial Times) 

If Switzerland manages to negotiate access to the EU single market and a limit on migration, don't assume the UK will do the same (says Jean-Claude Juncker). (Financial Times)

If you can estimate the speed of your own heart rate, you'll be a better trader. It's easier to estimate the speed of your own rate when you are not fat. (Bloomberg) 

The new poor: about 25% of upper-middle-class 40- to 55-year-olds have less than $17.5k in financial assets (Quartz).

Morgan Stanley's London bankers deserve praise for cycling 150 miles to raise money for a children's hospital. (EastLondonAdvertiser) 

Bank of America analysts says maybe Donald Trump wouldn't be so bad for the economy. (Quartz) 

"Not that long ago if you could do Black-Scholes you could make a lot of money on Wall Street, but now there's an app [to do that] on your phone." (Risk) 

BNP Paribas is working on a Blockchain platform that will enable retail investors to lend money to businesses via an instrument known as a mini-bond. (Coindesk) 

Beware the office conspiracy theory. (British Psychological Society)

Contact:SButcher@eFinancialCareers.com