More Changes to JPMorgan’s Inner Circle; Morgan Stanley CEO Says More Pay Cuts to Come: Roundup

Patrick Clark — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 07:55:46 -0400

Barry Zubrow, JPMorgan's head of regulatory affairs, will step down from the position by the end of the year, The Wall Street Journal says, as Jamie Dimon continues to shake up his inner circle. Four former members of the firm's operating committee have left the bank or accepted lesser jobs in the last year, the Journal reports, a group that doesn't include Jes Staley, considered as a potential successor to Mr. Dimon before being stripped of his role as head of JPMorgan's investment bank in July. Mr. Zubrow, who was previously JPMorgan's chief risk officer, may stay with the firm in an advisory role.

Straight talkin' James Gorman told The Financial Times that pay cuts would continue: “What the Street has historically done is when revenues went up, they kept the comp-to-revenue ratio flat. They rank comp by ratio. When revenues went down, they increased the comp-to-revenue ratio because they said, ‘We might lose all our people. We have to increase it.’” The Morgan Stnaley CEO added: “That’s a classic Wall Street case of ‘Heads I win; tails you lose.’ The current Wall Street management is a little tougher-minded about that and shareholders are certainly tougher-minded.”

Royal Bank of Scotland suspended a trader for trying to rig the Singapore dollar interest rate swap, according to Bloomberg. The trader, Chong Wen Kuang, was named in the lawsuit of Tan Chi Min, who is suing RBS for wrongful dismissal after being fired for trying to manipulate interbank lending rates.

The Department of Justice and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are among authorities investigating Credit Suisse over mortgage-backed securities, according to Reuters.

Mr. Schneiderman is said to have so-called tolling agreements with 12 banks, allowing the prosecutor to continue his investigation into mortgage-securitization practices at the firms beyond the statue of limitations.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said his country will be out of cash by the end of November if it doesn't receive the next bailout installmen t from its European neighbors.

Spanish finance minister Luis de Guindos told an audience of academics that “Spain doesn’t need a bailout at all” ... and the academics laughed.

Dave & Buster's pulled its initial public offering yesterday, citing market volatility.

Junk bond issuers looking to pay interest rates with bonds instead of cash set off alarm bells, according to the Journal.

U.S. and European officials may step up sanctions against Iran after the nation's currency, the rial, fell 40 percent against the dollar over the last two weeks.

Put a $65 million bounty out for the man who can win the heart of your lesbian daughter, and all sorts of undesirables come calling. Sacha Baron Cohen, f or instance ...

RBS Libor Rigging May Have Extended Beyond Fired Traders; Smith Barney Brand Too Old Fashioned For This World: Roundup

Patrick Clark — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 05:51:25 -0400

Royal Bank of Scotland managers and traders routinely sought to influence interbank lending rates between 2007 and 2010, and the wrongdoings extend beyond the four traders fired last year, according to Bloomberg. Manipulating the bank's submissions for Libor and other interbank lending rates would have allowed traders to boost the value of derivatives positions held by RBS, which is 81 percent owned by the British government.

Goodbye Smith Barney: Morgan Stanley is rolling out a name-change for the 75-year-old brand, according to The New York Post. The brokerage, jointly-owned with Citigroup, will be called Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. In its heyday, Smith Barney was known for its advertising slogan: “They make money the old fashioned way: They earn it.”Regarding name-changes, your favorite Charlotte-based lender spend some time pondering whether Bank of America Merrill Lynch was too much of a mouthful for its investment bank.

Rajiv Goel, the former Intel employee whose testimony helped convict Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam of insider trading last year, was sentenced to two years probation and force to disgorge more than $260,000 for his participation in Mr. Rajaratnam's scheme.

Lawyers for Peregrine Financial Group founder Russell Wasendorf Sr., who pleaded guilty to stealing millions from customers of his futures brokerage, want their client released on bail pending sentencing.

The International Monetary Fund wants more austerity measures from Greece. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is twisting arms.

A new book on Angela Merkel draws parallels between the German leader and Don Corleone.

DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach is offering $1 million for the safe return of a painting by Piet Mondrian that was stolen from his Santa Monica, Calif. home last month, and another $500,000 for the return of works by Jasper Johns and Joseph Cornell.

A hedge fund makes it (a little bit) easier for investors to pull money out.

Observer » Antonis Samaras

More Changes to JPMorgan’s Inner Circle; Morgan Stanley CEO Says More Pay Cuts to Come: Roundup

RBS Libor Rigging May Have Extended Beyond Fired Traders; Smith Barney Brand Too Old Fashioned For This World: Roundup