“They’ve simultaneously pulled off one of the most lucrative investments of all time, and crystallized a long-running missed opportunity. So, yes...tough one to evaluate”
A Beijing-based investment banker, asked for his reaction to the news that Morgan Stanley had finally announced the sale of its stake in CICC (originally bought for just $37 million) for about $1 billion
“Regulators insisted that liquidity buffers comprise mostly government bonds. Are they really telling me that these are less risky than AAA secured bonds, or even good-quality stocks”
A senior bank executive is losing patience with regulators and worrying about sovereign haircuts
“If the authorities now force banks to take a hit on resolution of sovereign debts, then we’ll be very happy to review our position as one of the largest primary dealers in the eurozone government bond markets”
Fighting talk from the same banker
“Gamekeeper turned poacher”
An observer’s view of Goldman’s hire of former London Stock Exchange equity markets head to run its new MTF trading platform
“Organising the bondholders will be as easy as herding kittens”
One observer doesn’t hold out much hope for the steering committee in any Punch restructuring