| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| PartyT |
Posted - 08/01/2009 : 01:29:23 AM
The Global Casino Has Reopened
Investment banks are making giant profits again, thanks in part to taxpayers. Speculation is back—but now the public is shouldering the risk
Anshu Jain, 46, listened stoically and silently to the remarks of shareholders at the annual meeting of Deutsche Bank (DB) at the end of May. Many were troubled by the fact that the bank had reported its biggest ever loss in 2008, €3.9 billion ($5.6 billion), for which Jain, as its top investment banker, was responsible.
Deutsche Bank, like all major investment banks, took great risks in the boom years, speculating with securities that we now call toxic, because they have poisoned bank balance sheets.
While many shareholders at the annual meeting discussed the causes and effects of the financial crisis, and while politicians around the globe debated the introduction of stricter regulations to impose tighter limits on the risky activities of investment bankers, Jain saw the crisis as an opportunity. His first step was to get customer accounts back into the game, followed by a return to speculative investment in proprietary trading.
By Frank Hornig, Christoph Pauly and Wolfgang Reuter
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2009/gb20090731_304221.htm |
|
|
