Obviously, HSBC’s FX area was not exempt from the swingeing staff cuts announced by the bank yesterday. Rumours suggest that the bank postponed the move by a week, as some of the staff to be laid off were required to sort out the exposure it had to Lehman positions. I’m told reliably that, at least in FX, there was no real drama over the announcement and that some of the bank’s longer-serving members took the opportunity to bow out of the market gracefully.
My old mate Keith Brignell was one of them. It only seems like yesterday that Keith came to a ‘Young Ones’ in-lunch I hosted at RP Martins. Nobody over the age of 25-years was allowed to come. In those days we all believed we’d be put out to dry when we got to 30 years of age. That was back in 1983. Keith was a great dealer. Not flash, but very reliable and steady. I wish him all the best in his retirement.