The general public sees bankers, and especially investment bankers, as public enemy number one and no amount of spin is going to change that. But some chiefs are now engaging with the press so rarely that they have become an invisible force.
Tom Montag, global banking and markets chief at Bank of America, is a good example. He is running one of the largest global investment banks but we hardly hear a murmur from him. Last quarter, his area reported net income of $1.9 billion, down some 30% year on year.
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| The general public sees bankers, and especially investment bankers, as public enemy number one – no amount of spin is going to change that. But Tom Montag and Eric Varvel are now engaging with the press so rarely that they have become an invisible force |
I am surprised that Montag has not ventured into the public arena to give us an insight into the synergies of the Merrill/Bank of America merger and what progress his troops are making. But then I hear he takes a dim view of the press, having been left rather singed by the reaction to the $50 million pay packet that Merrill offered him in 2008, mid-crisis.