Bellwether: n. From the practice of placing a bell around the
neck of a castrated ram so that it might lead its flock
Bellwether
Who’s moving where...
CREDIT SUISSE has
carved out a new role
to lead its handling of
sexual harassment
claims and examine
group-wide policies.
Antoinette Poschung
has been appointed to
the new role of
conduct and ethics
ombudswoman.
Poschung is currently
head of HR for
corporate functions.
She will be responsible
for reviewing all sexual
harassment claims as
well as conducting a
bank-wide review of
training practices and
global policies.^ GOLDMAN SACHS^
said Simon Osborn and
Katie Hyde would lead
its private wealth
management business
in Los Angeles and
San Francisco regions,
respectively. Osborn
has been at Goldman
for 20 years and Hyde
joined the bank in
2005.^ Mohamed Abdel
Kader has been named
as CITIGROUP’s
country officer to lead
the bank’s franchise in
Egypt. Kader joined
Citi in Egypt in 1995
and has been serving
as country treasurer
since 2008. He will
continue to serve as
head of markets for
Egypt.ICICI BANK has
appointed Girish
Chandra Chaturvedi as
part-time non-
executive chairman.
Chaturvedi, a former
Indian Administrative
Services officer, most
recently served as
chairman of the
Warehousing
Development and
Regulatory Authority.His appointment at
India’s third largest
lender by assets comes
shortly after the bank
tapped group veteran
Sandeep Bakhshi to be
its interim head, with
chief executive Chanda
Kochhar on leave
pending a probe over
an alleged conflict of
interest.WHILE LONDON BASKS in a heatwave and faces the additional
distraction of England’s football team not being rubbish for
once, it’s proving hard for some to concentrate on more
weighty matters affecting the market.
Most conversations start with a chat about the football
before being dragged back to the issues of the day. Brexit, for
example, is once again becoming a pressing concern, and the
debate currently focuses on whether the City should take a
Norway deal as the UK faces a looming deadline.
Failure to agree upon a Brexit strategy will result in sheer
chaos and probably trigger a recession.
But when presented with this potential Armageddon
scenario, one banker showed a strong sense of where his
priorities lie, telling Bellwether: “Never mind a Norway
DEALûWEûNEEDûAûWINûAGAINSTû3WEDENûlRSTvû3OûITSûAûCASEûOF û
forget the EU – it’s a potential exit from the World Cup
that’s of much greater concern for many in the City.
And there is some empirical evidence he is not alone.
According to research from Citigroup, traded volumes in
US Treasuries and German Bunds drop by as much as 50%
during World Cup matches, while execution costs rise by
between 5% and 20%.
Citi’s carefully considered (and wise) advice: enjoy the
football and forget about getting deals done.
JAPAN’S DRAMATIC LAST-minute exit to Belgium in the World Cup
went down badly at Nomura’s London headquarters, where a
number of its bankers were watching a game that carried some
EXTRAûSIGNIlCANCEûFORûSOMEûOFûITSûEQUITYûADVISORYûBANKERS
Last year, Nomura was appointed lead adviser by the Belgian
STATEûTOûADVISEûONûTHEûPLANNEDû)0/ûOFû"ELlUSû"UTûINû!PRILû
"ELlUSûPOSTPONEDûITSû)0/ûTOûTHEûAUTUMNûBECAUSEûTHEû"ELGIANû
government had yet to approve the prospectus. Nomura will be
hoping there isn’t a further last-minute twist and that Japanese
hopes are not dashed by Belgium for a second time.ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER round of shock eliminations from
the World Cup, and with it another walk of shame for the
analysts and their predictive models.
Last week, it was the turn of ING to hang its head in shame, as
Spain – the Dutch bank’s tip for the trophy – were eliminated.
Perhaps in the next World Cup banks should forget their
algorithms and just root for their own country, although
ADMITTEDLYûTHATûWOULDûBEûDIFlCULTûFORûAû$UTCHûBANK ûASûTHEIRû
team didn’t qualify.WITH HOLIDAY SEASON fast approaching, a new book about
"ARCLAYSûANDûSPECIlCALLYûTHEûHISTORYûOFûITSûINVESTMENTû
banking business arrives. One of the more colourful
passages relates to current chairman John McFarlane, who
HASûHISûOFlCEûSUITEûLAIDûOUTûACCORDINGûTOûTHEûINSTRUCTIONSûOFû
his bullshido feng shui adviser to create an atmosphere of
positive energy.
While McFarlane frets about pot plants, his US rivals
have other things on their minds. JP Morgan has released
its annual summer reading list – a collection of books that
employers are encouraged to read, or at least to be seen with
IFûTHEYûHAPPENûTOûBEûWALKINGûPASTû*AMIEû$IMONSûOFlCE
Among the weighty tomes covering corporate strategy
is Cocktail Chameleon, providing variations on 12 classic
cocktails to inspire readers to dream up their own concoctions.
Many have wondered whether there is a secret recipe that
explains JP Morgan’s rise to prominence in the period since
THEûlNANCIALûCRISISû#OULDûITûBEûTHATûTHEûlRMSûBANKERSûAREû
half-cut on self-invented cocktails during working hours?