Will Jefferies be the new Deutsche Bank?

Could Jefferies be the new Deutsche Bank? It might seem a crazy thing to ask. It might seem tantamount to dancing on top of a grave that has yet to contain the body, but we're asking it because it's a concept that seems to be doing the rounds at Jefferies itself. - Or at least among Jefferies employees on Instagram.

Witness the meme below. Witness too, the circled comment from handlerrich - no less than Jefferies' CEO Richard Handler himself.

Source: Instagram

Ok, so Handler isn't exactly saying that Jefferies will go all out to fill Deutsche Bank's shoes. But he isn't exactly denying it either. And this is causing some excitement among his staff. - All the more so because there are definite parallels between the two banks. Both Jefferies and Deutsche are renowned for their big fixed income sales and trading businesses (Jefferies has a long history in high yield).  Both have a history of encouraging fixed income traders to be 'entrepreneurial' (Jefferies has a history of paying them cash bonuses based upon P&L). 

If Deutsche shrinks its sales and trading business, then, particularly in the U.S., Jefferies could yet ride in to fill the gap. Jefferies has already been scooping up DB leavers in London - last year it hired a DB convertible bond team, plus various members of Deutsche's real estate team. 

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com in the first instance. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram also available. Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)