Greg Medcraft’s failure to land the top position at the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a lesson to everyone looking for a job in finance, especially those who are super-confident that they’ve got a job when they have yet to sign a contract.
A former head of global securitisation at SocGen, 60 year-old Medcraft is currently serving as the chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. His name first emerged in connection with the top job at the FCA last October, when the Financial Times reported that he’d been ‘contacted by headhunters’ about the vacancy.
Since then, Medcraft seems to have thrown away a job that was his to lose. Firstly, there was the fact that the FT was writing about his FCA appointment before it even began. – Who told? Secondly, it seems that Medcraft’s wife didn’t want to move her family to the UK from Australia, and that he needed three months to persuade her. And thirdly, he started openly discussing relocation plans with Bank of England CEO Mark Carney before he’d even signed a contract. Worst of all, he encountered his future boss, George Osborne, on a reconnaissance flight to the UK (checking out London property) before he’d even got the job. The FT says Osborne was put off by Medcraft’s “flashy behaviour” and chose the more understated Andrew Bailey instead.
Separately, you can now study a degree course that partners with Goldman Sachs. The Wall Street Journal reports that the firm has partnered with Queen Mary University to offer an ‘apprenticeship degree programme.’ Starting in autumn this year, the WSJ says students on the four year paid apprenticeship programme will be able to work for Goldman’s technology division in London whilst earning a bachelor’s degree in digital technology and solutions. Apprentices will reportedly be paid in line with Goldman’s other junior staff.
Meanwhile:
Andrew Bailey on bonuses: “I don’t, by the way, tend to ring people up and say ‘get your bonuses down’. I’m not sure I’ve ever made that call. Contrary to public wisdom.” (Financial Times)
Deutsche Bank’s trading revenue is slumping because it’s taking less risk, hasn’t invested in the business, and the business is in global decline. (Bloomberg)
Morgan Stanley has a 44 year-old new head of equity trading. (Bloomberg)
Morgan Stanley also has a new head of fixed income sales. (Reuters)
Redundancy processes at RBS leave a lot to be desired. (Bloomberg)
Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Pure Alpha fund earned $45bn last year. (Bloomberg)
Pity John Paulson, for he is having to use his own wealth to back his hedge fund. (Bloomberg)
Female banker who won gender discrimination case is now suing (male) ex-colleagues for libel. (DailyMail)
At my second interview in the City, one of the desk directors asked me if I was prone to crying at work. (Guardian)
Why women don’t thrive in markets roles? “You cannot get away without having a point of view and at times you really have to defend your opinion and your point of view in a market that could prove you wrong in a matter of minutes.” (Lebenthal)
60% of bankers in the City plan to resign if their bonuses aren’t big enough. (Financial Times)
Cass graduates earn more than LSE graduates but HEC and Essec graduates earn the most. (Financial News)
Jamie Dimon, billionaire no more. (Marketwatch)
Facts about business travel: “There is almost twice the amount of travel from headquarters to subsidiaries as there is in the opposite direction.” (Marginal Revolution)
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