Jonathan Moulds’ departure from BAML at the end of the second quarter has been rather overshadowed by the decision of his colleague, Andrea Orcel, to jump ship to UBS at the same time.
Moulds is hardly likely to be persuaded to stay. He is firmly focused on an investment strategy of a very different kind – long having been a passionate supporter of the arts, he is on the board of the London Symphony Orchestra.
In January, he became chair of the Arts & Business Leadership Campaign in the UK, which aims to encourage private investment in the arts.
Arts Council funding was reduced by £71 million last year to just under £450 million, with a further cut of £61 million in grants scheduled by 2014.
The banker has a contact book of extremely deep pockets to plug that gap – including his own. He lends out his large violin collection to a number of gifted young musicians: when one of his prodigies gave a concert at St Luke’s Church in Old Street early last month, he lent her a 1717 Stradivarius worth £6.3 million.
On taking the Arts & Business role, he commented: "I’m in an industry where if you’re good at what you do, you get paid relatively well." Evidently so.