Change font size:   

 
The US treasury market reaches breaking point

The US treasury market reaches breaking point

The structural issue that could cause the world's market of last resort to grind to a halt

Abigail Hofman:

Abigail Hofman:

I wonder if ______ is an extremely optimistic person or in a cocoon of senior management denial

weeklyFiXLiquid real estate
Skip Navigation LinksHome :: Back Issues :: Oblivion looms for Loomis

November 2001

Oblivion looms for Loomis





       
Michel
David-Weill
When a man is down, bankers rarely hesitate to stick in the knife. So the moment Bill Loomis was sacked as Lazard's chief executive by Michel David-Weill out came the stilettos.
Character assassins say Loomis only got the job because he was a stooge who posed no threat to the chairman. "He was so much in David-Weill's shadow, if Michel stopped, Loomis would bump into him," remarks one wit. "He was a Michel clone."
Another puts a kinder spin on the man who might have been the new king of Lazards. "He was an ideal committee chairman. Bill didn't ruffle any feathers in an organization where you have some of the world's most obnoxious people all of whom are independently wealthy and are used to cutting people's throats as soon as look at them."
So what went wrong? One former partner attributes Loomis's departure to a bid for power by Paris partners whose fees were outstripping those earned in the US. "The European side is prospering and all of a sudden the London and Paris folks are saying we're not going to be run by folk who don't bring in the business."
Loomis was particularly vulnerable to this criticism as he was not noted as a rain-maker. "Bill got where he was by having Michel as his one client. I don't remember Bill ever bringing in a new client," says a source.
Loomis, 53, worked for the firm for 25 years. He joined from Citibank where he was a credit analyst in Korea and worked his way through domestic M&A.
Long-suffering Loomis may also have wanted to clarify his position as the widely tipped successor as chairman to David-Weill. This would have been in response to a statement by the chairman that he was only appointing a chief executive to fulfil a promise made three years earlier but he retained the ultimate authority, and was not "beholden to anything". The Lazard consensus is that "Michel shot him off at the knees".
Mounting a challenge to David-Weill would have been a high-risk strategy. It was tried in different ways by two high-flying Lazard executives, Steve Rattner and David Verey, and both of these departed.
Those colleagues revelling in Loomis's fall warn that he may have one last card up his sleeve. If features appear in Fortune magazine knocking Lazard and its chairman, their source could be none other than Loomis's wife Carol, a noted Fortune journalist.
A bigger threat to David-Weill than any media comment may be the attentions of UBS and wealthy French dealmaker Vincent Bollore. Their share buying partly opened up the bank's complex ownership in late 2000. Loomis's departure has put David-Weill on the back foot again and UBS is rumoured to be preparing to increase its stake. Loomis will not be the last Lazard surprise.







Dear Sirs, In view of what seems to be happening internationally with banks at the moment, I was wondering if you could advise me. If one of my cheques is returned marked ‘insufficient funds,’ how do I know whether that refers to you or to me?

A letter by a customer to a bank seen by Euromoney. One can’t help feeling that the balance of power in the relationship has changed somewhat

  1. US treasury market reaches breaking point

  2. Top 10 financial definitions that are funnier since the credit crunch

  3. Top 10 reasons to tell your boss you deserve a bonus this year

  4. Nomura’s great leap forward: Will Lehman takeover help fulfil its global ambitions?

  5. Eksportfinans turns to government for funding

Latest Issue

December 2008
Ruromoney Jobs Post a job

Home | Mobile site | Contact Us | Debt markets | Equities | Foreign exchange | Banking | Alternative Investments | Regions and Emerging markets | Polls & Awards | Structured credit | Back issues | Euromoney store | Useful links and Related events | Site Map

The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy before using the site.

All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. © 2008 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.