Morning Coffee: What you didn't know about Jes Staley and the whistleblower. Goldman moves away from elite students

The Financial Conduct Authority’s investigation into claims of Jes Staley’s inappropriate treatment of a “whistleblower” continues to drag on without a conclusion in sight. But anonymous insiders told the Sunday Times that there is more than one side to every story, arguing that it’s important to give a fair chance to people with previous issues related to addiction or mental health.

To rewind to what caused the regulatory scrutiny in the first place, Staley allegedly told his security department to discover the identity of an individual who wrote to the board raising concerns about a new employee despite having been warned against this. The Times reported that he even asked the U.S. postal service to identify from where the letter detailing the claims had been sent.

That is a no-no, especially for a CEO. However, the truth is more complicated and some say that there are mitigating circumstances.

First, the “whistleblower” was not a Barclays employee, but rather someone who sent an anonymous letter claiming to be a former colleague of the banker in question, according to The Times.

The core claim was that Staley’s new hire had problems with alcohol. Staley knew all about this – years earlier he had helped said banker to deal with his issues with booze while they were colleagues at J.P. Morgan Chase – so he was dismissive of the letter. The individual went through rehab and later left to join a rival bank, where he worked for several years before Staley asked him to join Barclays in 2016.

The article says: “Before agreeing to join, the banker disclosed everything about his past issues to Barclays. The fact that he and Staley were friends was also declared. Therefore, nobody at Barclays saw anything in the letter worth noting.

“Staley reacted angrily, as he saw the letter as vindictive. Knowing the circumstances, the board had some sympathy – which is why they settled for slapping their chief executive on the wrists and docking his bonus.” While it remains deeply inappropriate for a CEO to pursue a whistleblower, the Sunday Times' detail personalizes Staley's case and helps explain his motivation.

That’s not the bank’s only headache. In addition, Barclays has drawn up contingency plans as it awaits the next move of activist private equity investor Edward Bramson, who’s built a 5% stake in the firm.

Separately, when it comes to recruiting college students, Goldman Sachs is casting a wider net, at least according to its 2017 shareholder letter:

“Our recruiting strategy is centered on expanding and diversifying our applicant pool. Through the use of technology, including video interviewing and hosting online coding challenges, we increased the number of schools from which we interview intern candidates by more than 150 schools for the 2018 class, compared to 2017.”

That doesn’t mean Goldman has started accepting sub-3.0 GPAs from any old university, but it does mean that you have a fighting chance to get a job there even if you didn’t go to an Ivy League school, MIT, NYU-Stern or Oxbridge.

In addition, the letter revealed that Goldman is aiming to add 1k companies to the roster of clients covered by its investment bankers over the next year and a half.

Further, Goldman revealed that it paid its European CEO, Richard Gnodde, $19m last year.

It is also trying to expand the audience of its “Talks at GS” interviews, a series of chats with guests ranging from corporate chieftains like Bob Iger of the Walt Disney Co. to athletes like Magic Johnson and artists like the novelist André Aciman, who wrote “Call Me By Your Name.”

Meanwhile:

Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam received $10.2m in 2017. (WSJ)

J.P. Morgan pays men at its investment bank in London more than twice as much as their female colleagues, undermining the Wall Street giant’s recent claim that it has a minimal gender pay gap. (The Times of London)

A state with an ex-Goldman governor across the river from Wall Street is voting on legislation to strengthen pay-equity today. (WSJ)

Nasdaq C.E.O. Adena Friedman grew up hanging around the trading floor with her father. How is she now running a major stock exchange? She spoke up, and she got stuff done. (New York Times)

Wells Fargo is making more changes to its risk management across the bank, just weeks after it was slapped with an enforcement action from the Federal Reserve. (WSJ)

While former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen broke new ground as the first female holder of that post, women holding management positions are still a rare breed at some major central banks. (Bloomberg)

Neel Kashkari helped bail out big banks during the financial crisis, but now as a Federal Reserve regional bank president, he is proposing measures that could break them up. (WSJ)

The CFTC commissioner Rostin Behnam has slammed an “unimaginable” cut to the derivatives regulator's funding. (CTA Intelligence)

The City of London is still planning for a messy “cliff-edge” Brexit. (FT)

More hedge funds closed their doors than opened up in 2017, but the pace of liquidations slowed as the industry attracted fresh cash. (Reuters)

IHS Markit CEO Lance Uggla says “there's a good chance” that blockchain “will be adopted in many marketplaces for many asset classes in the future.” (Business Insider)

Here's what you need to know about quantum computer systems. (The Next Web)

Wall Street and Silicon Valley both rejoiced as shares of the file-sharing company jumped 36% on their first day of trading Friday. (New York Times)

Might Wall Street firms be able to take advantage of Facebook’s struggles to attract top tech talent? (New York Times)

When it comes to dishonesty, there are three kinds of people. (MIT Technology Review)

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