Receiving Wide Coverage ...
A new way of working
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser “told staffers that most of them will be expected to be in the office only three days a week when the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “The memo makes Citigroup the first major bank to declare that a physical presence in its offices won’t be required in the post-pandemic world, a change most bankers would have scoffed at a year or even months ago.”
Ms. Fraser “said the plans as to which roles would be hybrid haven’t been finalized. Some roles would still require in-person attendance as the norm and few will change to full-time remote.”
“This is not just a scheduling exercise; we will be thoughtful about when we ask colleagues to be in the office together,” Fraser wrote. “The pandemic has stretched our capacity for innovative thinking, for solving problems. It has opened doors to new ways of working and shown that we are able to adapt to and even flourish amid adversity.”
In the memo, Fraser called for “Zoom-free Fridays, forbidding internal video conferences on that day,” while also telling to staff to “’try to avoid’ scheduling video conferences outside of normal working hours,” the Financial Times said. “She also called on staff to take their vacations and gave all employees May 28 off, a ‘reset day’ the bank also held last year.”
“While the pandemic has shown bankers were capable of working flexibly, Fraser emphasized the importance of the office for reasons of collaboration, camaraderie, and the dissemination of skills and institutional knowledge.”
Writing on the same theme, an FT op-ed says “remote work has been a disaster for banks and other businesses that rely on an apprenticeship model. Many of the youngest workers, including the complaining Goldman analysts, have never met their bosses in person. Juniors feel less connected to the institution, and seniors find it hard to judge when underlings are struggling. That’s one reason why many senior bankers are pushing to get people back to the office.”
Wirecard trick
Defunct German payments company Wirecard “played a key role in an alleged scheme to trick banks into processing marijuana sales, according to evidence and testimony at the New York trial of two businessmen charged with orchestrating the plan,” the Journal reported. “Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Wirecard was one of several European banks that opened fraudulent accounts to disguise around $160 million in marijuana purchases made through Eaze Technologies, a California-based marijuana-delivery service. During a trial this month, witnesses have testified that Wirecard’s former chief operating officer, Jan Marsalek, was deeply involved in the alleged scheme.”
“Mr. Marsalek is the subject of an international manhunt after German authorities charged him with securities violations and fraud in connection with the demise of Wirecard. Wirecard and Mr. Marsalek are among some 140 uncharged co-conspirators in the Eaze case.”
Separately, according to the FT, “Wirecard’s fraud started more than a decade before the German payments company imploded, as some senior managers began establishing a network of offshore companies that were used to siphon off millions.” Oliver Bellenhaus, a former top executive of the firm, “has informed Munich prosecutors that starting in 2010 he created an array of shell companies based in Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands. He said he did so at the behest of Jan Marsalek.”
Wall Street Journal
Pivot play
HSBC “is hiring 3,000 branchless bankers to search prosperous Chinese coastal cities for wealthy clients who need advice on insurance and investments. The venture, known as HSBC Pinnacle, is critical to HSBC Chief Executive Noel Quinn’s plan to revive the bank’s lagging fortunes with what he calls three pivots: to Asia, to wealth management and to business that generates fee income—advisory work, for example—rather than lending. It is also part of a digital-banking push at HSBC that analysts say is overdue.”
Rounding up
Blockchain.com, “a London-based firm that provides a variety of cryptocurrency services to retail and institutional clients, raised $300 million in a deal that highlights venture capital’s growing willingness to jump back into the bitcoin frenzy. The investment round gave the company a $5.2 billion valuation and comes just one month after the company raised $120 million in a funding round that valued it at $3 billion. Blockchain.com has 31 million verified users across 200 countries and 70 million digital ‘wallets.’ The firm offers retail trading and a range of services for professional investors like credit, structured products, trading and custody.”
Financial Times
Fossil fuel
“Global banks provided $750 billion in financing to coal, oil and gas companies last year, despite many having pledged to back the Paris climate accord and cut their funding for fossil fuels, according to a new study by an activist group. U.S. banks continue to be the largest financiers of fossil fuel companies. In total, the world’s 60 largest banks have provided $3.8 trillion to fossil fuel companies since 2016, when the Paris agreement came into effect.”
New York Times
Job security
One of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s “greatest strengths may be that before joining the Fed he had not spent his career steeped in macroeconomics, as his two predecessors had,” a Times op-ed gushes. “He’s been an avid learner, but also a critical thinker.”
“It’s no accident that under his leadership the Fed adopted a new framework that emphasizes the employment mandate. It’s grounded in what he learned from people on a review tour called ‘Fed Listens,’ which included community leaders and ordinary workers who pushed him to support more job creation among low- and moderate-income people.”
Bitcoin City?
Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami “is selling his city as the world’s cryptocurrency capital. Last month, the Republican mayor suggested Miami pay municipal workers and accept tax payments in Bitcoin, as well as invest city funds in the cryptocurrency. Local officials have agreed to study the proposals.”
“The notion made him popular in the crypto community, advancing his rebranding campaign. His efforts have also won him campaign donations from tech investors, attracted money to cultivate Miami’s burgeoning tech sector and may soon pay a big county bill.”
Quotable
“When our work regularly spills over into nights, very early mornings and weekends, it can prevent us from recharging fully, and that isn’t good for you nor, ultimately, for Citi.” — Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, in a note to employees, in which she said she wants them to have a better work-life balance.
