Pity the analysts, associates and vice presidents in Deutsche Bank’s investment banking division (IBD). As of yesterday it seems they’ll be restricted to the proverbial ‘bullpen’ writing financial models and tweaking PowerPoint presentations rather than flying about the world visiting clients.
At the least this is the implication of a tightening of Deutsche Bank’s travel restrictions. The Financial Times reported yesterday that analysts, associates and VPs at Deutsche Bank are no longer automatically allowed to accompany directors and MDs on meetings to see clients. – They can only do so for particular clients, and only if no one more senior is available.
The edict comes as other banks, like Goldman Sachs, have been talking publicly about getting their junior bankers out to meet clients more often as a means of keeping them engaged. Juniors often complain about the tedium of working long hours on interminable models and PowerPoint presentations and visiting clients is a valuable perk. A former Morgan Stanley analyst who wrote here last week about how great the bank was to work for said attending client meetings was a definite highlight.
At Deutsche Bank, however, there will now be none of this – or at least, a lot less. The new restrictions come after a Deutsche Bank managing director complained on eFinancialCareers earlier this week that the existing restrictions would impact his ability to meet clients. The FT said yesterday that travel by senior bankers to see ‘important clients’ is ‘still allowed and encouraged.’ It also said that DB has banned staff travel to internal meetings, which was another bugbear of the MD who wrote here. Some things, at least, should keep its bankers happy.
Separately, no sooner did we say that banking job cuts were on the horizon, than Citi has said the word. After revealing yesterday that fixed income sales and trading revenues are likely to be flat to slightly higher in the third quarter and investment banking revenues are likely to be down on last year, Gerspach said Citi aims to make $2.8bn in cost savings by 2020, partly by cutting jobs.
This is an increase on Citi’s previous aim of cutting $2.5bn in costs by the same date. It’s not clear the extent to which the new cuts will hit the investment bank, though. In his presentation yesterday, Gerspach said Citi plans to deploy robotics, big data and straight through processing capabilities to optimize infrastructure, and to accelerate the movement of jobs to ‘low cost locations’ to cut costs. Citi has already cut 3,000 jobs as part of its efficiency plan to date, said Gerspach.
Meanwhile:
Jamie Dimon on his ability to beat Trump in an election (quickly played-down): My money “wasn’t a gift from daddy.” (Financial Times)
Misery for analysts, associates and vice presidents at Deutsche Bank, who are no longer allowed to accompany managing directors on business trips except on exceptional occasions
Morgan Stanley is setting up a new venue for fund managers to buy and sell shares at an (as yet) mystery location in Europe. (Financial News)
Deutsche Bank is considering loosening the ties between its retail and investment banks – a move which could make it easier for it to strike merger deals in future. (Reuters)
Stefanos Papapanagiotou, the new head of UBS’s under-performing FIG group, has hired Alexander Moore from Morgan Stanley to cover UK insurance companies, and made various other tweaks. (Financial News)
Julian Macedo, the former co-head of equity capital markets in central and eastern Europe at Barclays, has converted his firm ‘ECM Team’ into a freelance GIG employer for seasoned bankers. “There’s a growing demand for people who have 20-plus years in investment banking to use that experience on M&A transactions [but have] the flexibility to work on other interests. Banking is no longer as rewarding professionally or financially, and job security is arguably no better than working flexibly like this.” (Financial News)
If you work in finance, you should probably be in New York. (Financial Times)
64% of Goldman Sachs interns want to start their own business. (Quartz)
AI-trained Sonic the Hedgehog. (Technology Review)
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