“It’s definitely bad news for M&A”
An investment banker struggles to make sense of president Trump’s order prohibiting Broadcom’s bid for Qualcomm that deprives his firm of a share in $300 million in advisory fees
“It appears that Qualcomm has turned over the US Defense Department”
This M&A banker has had time to consider
“I don’t think you’ll hear too many banks saying they want to be the Facebook of finance anymore”
This banker shares an in-joke having once been saved by his press handlers from putting his name to a quote in Euromoney stating exactly that ambition
“I kid you not. I just came from one advisory firm that told me how it has now trained all its male advisers to ‘also look the wives of male clients in the eye too’. That’s how far behind we are…”
One gender-lens investment pioneer highlights the shift in mindset needed to address female wealth
“The concept of passive investing is two years out of date. In these conditions I want my money with the most active investor out there”
More volatility is good news for active asset management
“Don’t ask me anything about Trump if you want to come back and interview me again because if I say anything I won’t be here”
One US banker reveals his comms department’s nervousness about commenting on the activities of the US president
“Let me think. No”
A Latin American-based delegate at the IDB in Mendoza, Argentina, responds to whether she would attend next year’s event in Chengdu, China.
“Bank CEOs have stopped dancing and started worrying about where the next crisis is coming from. That has to be a good thing”
The new, responsible face of the banking industry is in evidence for this banker
“The specific days of the week that Christmas falls on has an effect on the market. The way the days fell last year, there were 15 calendar days to work with…the next few weeks were the quietest we’ve ever seen. It felt like a market shutdown. It will happen again this year”
It isn’t the most scientific of predictions – indeed the banker who said it also said Euromoney would be stupid to print it. But we will be holding him to it