Morning Coffee: 53 year-old trader arrested for unorthodox stress-relief. Take a job when you're not ready

Working in high yield can be stressful. If you're a trader, you're working in what can be highly illiquid markets. If you're an originator, you're battling a tide of falling new issuance. This might be why Tanneguy Marie De Carne, SocGen's London-based global head of high yield capital markets got a little carried away with his post-work wind-down seven months ago.

After leaving SocGen's Tower Hill office one Monday evening in March, Marie De Carne reportedly set about cycling home in such a way that he attracted the attention of a police patrol car. The police then pursued him through London in a chase reminiscent of a Jason Bourne movie.

Marie De Carne's interlude began at 7.30pm when he left SocGen's office and jumped red lights along Mansion House Street. Thereafter, he was about to turn into Queen Victoria Street when he swerved and changed his mind, cutting up a marked police car in the process.

The police inside tried to stop him, but Marie De Carne simply carried on riding towards St. Paul's Cathedral before veering down the mainly pedestrian Bow Lane. Realizing his mistake, he turned around. The car put its siren on and a police officer jumped out to apprehend him, but Marie De Carne swerved and cycled down another footpath before turning into Old Jewry. The police tried to block him again, but he did a "sweeping U-turn" and evaded capture. Only when the police shouted at him to stop cycling a further time, did De Carne hand himself in. He's now been landed with a £2.5k ($3.1k) fine after pleading guilty to dangerous cycling.

In court, De Carne blamed his episode on stress: "'I cycle because it takes pressure off when I leave work". After losing control and attending a cycling safety course, De Carne said he has now tried to change his cycling behaviour. Nowadays, it seems he cycles more mindfully: "I am now trying to change and enjoy the experience."

Separately, if ever you're offered a job that seems a bit of a stretch, take it. So suggests Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs. In his Bloomberg interview with David Rubenstein, Blankfein said he didn't feel ready to become CEO of Goldman Sachs 10 years ago and he still doesn't feel ready now. He also said that his lymphoma, which is now in remission was of a high grade but that he'd never considered giving up work and 'smelling the flowers': "I'm very reality based, maybe I'm not that spiritual," he told Rubenstein.

Meanwhile:

Goldman Sachs has laid off at least 486 employees in New York this year — the most since 2009, when it shed more than 900 workers. (NY Post) 

Goldman Sachs likes to lay people off in unobtrusive trickles. (Bloomberg) 

Dublin would like the European Banking Authority to relocate there when it leaves London. (Guardian) 

Bob Diamond's new gig is returning to his fixed income trading roots. (Bloomberg)

Rurik Jutting resigned. He wasn't fired by BAML. (Reuters)

From next month, the minimum age of early retirement from Credit Suisse will rise from 55 to 58 years. (FiNews)

Investors have pulled $8bn from Deutsche’s ETF arm so far this year. Last year they put $28bn in. (Financial Times) 

The non-core unit John Cryan wants to pay Deutsche's bonuses from generated €11bn of losses between 2012 and 2015. (Gadfly)

Do your bit for global nuclear security: man a new office in Iran. (Taylor Francis Group) 

Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com

Photo credit: Deutsche Bank | London Wall by Justin Pickard is licensed under CC BY 2.0.