Setting the Agenda for the City +5Pt

Online edition 29 June 2020 Setting the agenda for the City +5pt +10 pt +15 pt Investment Publication of the Year 29 June 2020 Issue 1197 £9.50 | € 11 Fintech envoy Eileen Wirecard: What its rise Back to work: When Burbidge: ‘I was a and fall tells us about and how Square Mile’s Silicon Valley cliché’ the financial industry offices will reopen Page 3 Page 4 Page 9 Setting the agenda for the City Executives call coaches amid Zoom debacles David Ricketts Zoom fatigue is real. A senior sales and marketing ex- ecutive at a UK asset manager said that to prepare for a recent pitch for a pension fund mandate via the con- ferencing app, his team conducted seven or eight “dry runs”. “But I walked away thinking, ‘That was horrible’. You can’t read body language and you can’t sense the room,” said the person, who declined to be identified. “It was too clunky. We were given feedback that we were a bit cold and a bit distant.” Peter Grundy Grundy Peter He added: “We’ve done a few vir- tual pitches now. Some of them have been car crashes.” To avoid such a disaster in the The race and ethnicity gap future, the fund management exec- utive enlisted the help of a presentation coach for the next set of pitches, saying he hoped a professional would give him and his team a “per- Finance sector’s deafening formance” edge. As new business pitches and client meetings are being conducted from spare bedrooms and home silence on diversity in its ranks offices, some City executives have struggled to adapt and are turning to expert help after a series of presenta- Paul Clarke and David Ricketts George Floyd in May and to to have conversations outside their own organisations. tion nightmares. And those who pro- say how passionately they feel of their “comfort zone” while Financial News asked 11 vide presentation coaching to City Jamie Dimon, arguably the about diversity issues. Larry Fink, chair and CEO of leading investment banks and firms say they’re noticing an increase highest profile banking boss on Goldman Sachs chair and CEO BlackRock, said the world’s five asset managers to provide in demand since lockdown began in Wall Street, became the finance David Solomon urged employees largest asset manager must not data on the proportion of black March. sector’s poster boy for the “tolerate shortcomings” on and ethnic minority people they Sandra Davis, head of presenta- Black Lives Matter movement Poll question racial inequality. employ globally. While some fund tion coaching at one such firm, called this month after he took the Do you feel However, the public managers — including Standard Bladonmore, has worked with City knee in a sign of solidarity. your company No Yes displays of support for the Life Aberdeen, Jupiter and bosses to conduct presentations such His bold gesture came is doing 54 % 46 Black Lives Matter movement Schroders — provided numbers, as investor days and financial results. as senior financial services enough to by some finance giants is out of not a single investment bank “A few clients have said the lead- executives came out in droves increase racial kilter with their reluctance to to criticise the killing of diversity? reveal racial diversity within Continued on page 12 Continued on page 2 City wants charter to boost BAME staff Inside Paul Clarke and sury to set up a programme for fi- disclose the proportion of BAME em- bers of black and other minorities Glitterbugs: Hedge funds Shruti Tripathi Chopra nancial services, akin to the govern- ployees in their workforce. Many of that they employ, so that this issue increase gold bets because ment’s Women in Finance charter, in them do not want to (see story above). cannot be hidden.” ‘the only way is up’ The government has come under order to address the chronic lack of “It would be a big step forward The UK stands in contrast to the pressure to create a dedicated race racial diversity in City firms. if there were a race equality char- US, where the Equal Employment Page 10 charter for the financial sector, in Some of the world’s biggest fi- ter in the same vein as the wom- Opportunities Commission requires How high-tech is the ‘new- a bid to encourage big banks, asset nance firms criticised racism and en in finance charter,” said Diane firms to publish granular data each managers and other City employ- came out in support of the Black Abbott, the first female black MP. year on the proportion of BAME look’ Bank of England? ers to increase the number of black Lives Matter movement this month “It would increase transparency employees. While the government Page 15 and minority ethnic (BAME) workers in the wake of protests over George and might force the finance sec- launched a Race at Work charter in A big job at HSBC for within their ranks. Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis. tor to address racial inequality 2018, many banks — and most asset High-profile figures from finance But at present, UK-based finan- more. There should also be a le- Deutsche’s Bagshaw and politics have called on the Trea- cial services firms do not have to gal requirement to show the num- Continued on page 13 Page 22 2 News 29 June 2020 Credit Continued from page 1 Credit Suisse review of funds Executives call in coaches amid shines light on SoftBank’s roles Zoom debacles Senior bank executives are concerned, write Julie Steinberg and Duncan Mavin ership team are finding it difficult to Executives at Credit Suisse are re- the sole supplier of the supply chain sill through two tranches that valued engage people,” she told Financial viewing several of the bank’s funds finance deals that go into the Credit the company at $3.5bn. SoftBank cur- News. “For some, we have had to do after becoming concerned about the Suisse funds. rently has a 9.9% equity stake in the it very quickly. It was a big switch go- multiple roles played by Japanese A Credit Suisse spokesman point- company, according to a document ing online and presentations had to conglomerate SoftBank, according to ed to a statement he made last week viewed by The Wall Street Journal and be adapted.” On message: Finance pros are people familiar with the matter. confirming the review. A Greensill people familiar with the investment. Research from Ofcom, the getting tips on Zoom presenting Four Credit Suisse funds have spokesman said the firm isn’t in- The rest of its stake was struc- broadcast regulator, revealed a diz- $7.5bn in assets in total and are sold volved with Credit Suisse’s internal tured as a convertible bond, because zying surge in Zoom usage among UK It is not just clients that execu- to investors and wealthy families as matters and that it has a strong rela- SoftBank would have needed approv- adults, with 13 million users in April tives are looking to impress. Presen- safe, short-term investments. They tionship with the bank. A SoftBank al for a larger equity stake from reg- — up from 659,000 in January. For tation coaches say companies also hold securities backed by loans made spokeswoman declined to comment. ulators in Germany where Greensill Microsoft Teams, users more than want to be more slick in how they to companies to allow them to pay David Erickson, a senior fellow owns a bank. doubled over the same period to 6.5 communicate with employees using their suppliers more quickly. in finance at the University of Penn- The SoftBank relationship with million, up from 3 million in April. internal webinars as well as online SoftBank plays three roles in the sylvania’s Wharton School, said Credit Suisse deepened in recent The proportion of UK online panel sessions. Credit Suisse funds: it is invested in there should be guardrails to protect months as one of the funds bought adults making video calls has also “Everyone has webinar fatigue,” the funds; it is invested in the compa- investors from potential conflicts of securities backed by loans made to doubled during lockdown, with said Houghton. “If you were doing a ny whose loans are held by the funds; interest, such as disclosures about other Vision Fund portfolio com- more than seven in 10 doing so at panel discussion at an event, you can and the funds own securities backed SoftBank’s role as an investor in the panies. Four such companies were least weekly, up from 35% from be- feed off people and the audience and by loans made to other companies fund and its relationship to Greensill. among the top 10 recipients of financ- fore working from home restrictions can gauge when to pitch in. It’s more that SoftBank has invested in. In essence, SoftBank serves as ing from the fund, receiving about were put in place. difficult online and you have to bring The review was launched after both a lender and borrower in the $750m in aggregate as of March 31, Overall, UK adults spent an av- in people in a slightly different way.” senior executives at the bank be- transactions. The fund documents according to a fund document. erage of four hours and two minutes Graham Davies, a presentation came concerned about SoftBank’s reviewed by The Wall Street Journal SoftBank also injected $500m online a day during April — the high- coach who has worked with execu- roles in the funds, one of the people don’t disclose SoftBank’s connection into the Credit Suisse funds, accord- est amount on record.

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