Weather Afternoon: 9°c Sunny spells Tonight: 5°c Partly Cloudy Night

Business

Bank bosses
Mixed results for top bankers: Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Dick Fuld of Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley's John Mack

Report card on how banks fared in crisis

David Rothnie
20 Jun 2008


The summer break can't come soon enough on Wall Street. Reeling from the subprime fallout and the credit crunch, New York bankers are yearning for their country retreats in the Hamptons and the beach.

This year, more than any other, their end-of-term reports have given them plenty to take away and digest. Morgan Stanley managed to make a 60% fall in profits against last year and Goldman admitted to an 11% slide.

John Mack returned as boss of Morgan-Stanley nearly three years ago with a remit to close the profits gap with Goldman. From the look of these figures he's failed abjectly (and let's not forget the small matter of a £60 million rogue trader in his Canary Wharf team, disclosed this week). Despite the profit decline, Blankfein remains the teacher's pet. Considering this time last year, we were still enjoying bull-market conditions, an 11% decline is hardly deserving of the headmaster's slipper. His reputation remains intact.

But, standing in the corner with a long, pointed hat marked "D" was Dick Fuld, who managed to turn a $1.3 billion profit a year ago into a $2.8 billion loss. Fuld, who had earlier said he took full responsibility for his team's performance, rather cheekily then booted out his two deputies but stayed in place himself. Not to mention being forced to go cap in hand to new investors to raise $4 billion of bailout cash. Poor show, Fuld - you're lucky not to have had your marching orders.

So here are the Evening Standard's marks on Dick, Lloyd and John's performance:

TRADING

Dick: 1/10
Lloyd: 6/10
John: 3/10

THE pain on the trading floors continued for all the banks' fixed income departments, which are suffering most since the credit crisis started and have accounted for the bulk of losses. From this week's results, the recovery is some way off. Lehman fared worst with a $3.5 billion trading loss, $3 billion of which came from fixed income.

Morgan Stanley's trading book also made grisly reading. Its rogue trader in London cost $120 million while mortgage securities dealers lost $436 million and leveraged loans even more. Overall trading revenues slid 71%. Ouch. Perhaps more worryingly, Mack's commodities business also declined, which is some achievement given the skyhigh oil price.

At Goldman, meanwhile, Blankfein changed the management of his trading operation at the beginning of March. Star traders Mike Sherwood and Michael Evans relinquished day-to-day responsibility to the quartet of Ed Eisler and Pablo Salame in London, and David Heller and Harvey Schwarz in New York. The four rookies fared reasonably well compared to their oppos at the rival banks. Goldman's overall trading revenues fell by just a third to $2.3 billion. Goldman is one of the banks to take advantage of the rise in trading volatility since the start of the credit crunch, with its equity business flat against last year - not bad going given the state of the stock market.

Morgan Stanley's equity traders achieved damage limitation with an 11% fall while Lehman's equities business again came bottom of the class with a 64% slump.

INVESTMENT BANKING

Dick: 4/10
Lloyd: 7/10
John: 2/10

A MIXED bag. Mergers and acquisitions activity continues to stutter with the hibernation of private-equity buyers and a loss of confidence as companies hold back from doing deals.

Goldman fared best with a rise in advisory fees as the bank cashed in on the crisis by working on restructurings of knackered companies. Lloyd's crew also picked up a lot of work arranging and underwriting the rights issues of stricken rival banks in the US. That delivered a 72% rise in equity underwriting revenues. Their recent job organising Royal Bank of Scotland's record £12 billion fundraiser will pay off big time but came too late for the second quarter. Morgan Stanley's investment banking revenues slumped by a half, with big falls in advisory, one of its strong suits. Lehman, which has been building up its presence in investment banking, particularly in London, saw revenues fall by a fifth.

STAFFING AND PAY

Dick: 3/10
Lloyd: 6/10
John: 2/10

WE decided to grade this from the view of who is still paying the best, and who have laid off the fewest. It's probably not how shareholders want to see them graded - they want bankers to suffer for their cavalier use of cash, but at the end of the day, blood on the carpet and shrivelled pay cheques are a clear sign of bad performance. All banks are slashing jobs, but from the look of these results, the worst is yet to come as overall headcounts are broadly unscathed. Since the second quarter of 2007, Goldman has been hiring more staff while Morgan Stanley chopped only 1%. With revenues plummeting, bankers predict another wave of redundancies by the end of the summer. One says he expects staffing levels to return to 2005 levels, which means a 40% cull in some areas.

At least banks appear to have costs under control, with a dramatic reduction in bankers' pay. At Morgan Stanley, Mack has lived up to his nickname of Mack the Knife by slashing the bonus pot by 40% to $3 billion. Lehman, which pays the biggest part of its bonuses in stock, has set aside 14% less for bonuses than at the same point last year. Goldman, the top payer, cut its bonus pot by 7%.

Reader views (0)

 Add your view

No comments have so far been submitted.


Add your comment

 

Terms and conditions Make text area bigger You have  characters left.

We welcome your opinions. This is a public forum. Libellous and abusive comments are not allowed. Please read our House Rules.

For information about privacy and cookies please read our Privacy Policy.


 

 

  • Moody's threat to Europe's banks sparks fury in City Euro problem graph Moody's has sent shockwaves through the global banking system and sparked fury in the City, as the ratings agency threatened to slash the...
  • Bank's China bond call Peter Sands One of London's most senior bankers is calling on the government to issue a renminbi-denominated bond as part of a charm offensive to boost...
  • Seven Olympus bosses held over £1bn fraud Olympus "After going to hell and back this is a day to remember," said fired Olympus boss and whistle-blower Michael Woodford after seven executives...
  • Spain pays for rating cut Struggling Spain has managed to prise another €4 billion (£3.3 billion) from jittery bond markets today but was forced to pay more for the privilege
  • Kingfisher bonus time as targets are smashed B&Q Ian Cheshire, B&Q owner Kingfisher's chief executive, and his top team are set for bumper payouts after smashing its bonus scheme's targets
  • Greek impasse hits euro Greek protesters European stock markets were jittery and the euro has dropped to its lowest level in four weeks as the brinksmanship between Greece and its...
  • PPR thrives as luxury brands remain strong Handbag Add £1000 python skin Gucci handbags to the list of things that remain popular despite the economic gloom
  • BAE set to axe more jobs as profits go into retreat BAE BAE Systems has raised the prospect of further job cuts as Britain's biggest manufacturer announced a disappointing set of results for 2011...
  • Reed Elsevier sees growth despite tough economy Anglo-Dutch publishing and events group Reed Elsevier reported a rise in full year profit and said it expected to generate more revenue and profit growth in 2012
  • Frothy profits at Heineken Beer The economy might be in dire straits but Brits still love a pint down the pub
  •  
    Market Roundup
    THURSDAY UPDATE

    Unilever urged to go for a break-up after food disappoints

    Is it time for Unilever to consider breaking up?

    More