"The thing that matters most at this bank is being friends with the CEO"
I work for a major US bank. If you want to be successful here, it's not about talent but whether you are a friend of the CEO.
The CEO has long supported loyalty over talent. Internally, people refer to the CEO's closest clique as a mafia. They operate in a closed group. They are not seen in any of the key offices.
It saps morale. Recently, a friend of the CEO who was underrated in various previous positions was promoted into a job despite a slew of complaints and internal investigations. This friend now runs a key function in the investment bank, despite a lack of support from the head of that particular business.
It's incredibly frustrating. Not least because the product suffers. We already had issues with that function and the inept friend of the CEO has made things worse. Client facing teams are suffering and so is culture.
None of us are sure what to do. We've tried to blow the whistle on bad behavior and a culture of fear, but once anything's escalated up the chain of command, concerns seem to dissipate.
We're all swimming uphill trying to counter the impact of these poor chosen promotions, but we feel powerless. Ultimately, top talent will simply leave the bank and the inept friends of the CEO will remain. It's a great shame.
Fiona Blythe is a pseudonym
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