At the end of December a select group of Euromarket veterans gathered under the shadow of Credit Suisse First Boston’s tower at Canary Wharf. There were there to watch Bank of England governor Eddie George unveil a monument to perhaps their most outstanding colleague. Michael von Clemm, former chairman of CSFB and Merrill Lynch Capital Markets died on November 6, 1997 at the age of 62.
Warmed by a couple of glasses of mulled wine, members of the Schroders dynasty chatted with ex-CSFB chief executive Jack Hennessy and admired the view from the firm’s 16th floor. Then it was out into the square to hear Euromoney chairman Padraic Fallon – prime mover behind the project – and the governor pay tribute to the man who laid the foundations not just for the modern international capital markets but also for the international financial centre in London’s Docklands in which, fittingly, the memorial is placed.
Anecdotes about von Clemm abound. His death is ascribed by some to his fondness for mobile phones: he had one of the earliest versions and from then on was rarely separated from it. He had heard of the increased exposure to radiation that comes with long-haul flying and so wrapped himself in a protective lead blanket when he travelled by air. And he was said to be the first banker to exceed $1 million expenses in one year – a charge he furiously denied, showing the files of chits to anyone who mentioned the matter.
But two stories that characterize the man better than most were recounted by an ex-CSFB executive who attended the occasion: “After the Chiasso scandal that rocked Credit Suisse in the 1970s, the bank found itself with a number of assets that it wanted to sell back to the Italians. One of these assets was the estate of Niccolo Machiavelli [the Florentine statesman and schemer]. Michael asked if the assets could be split up and he be allowed to buy Machiavelli’s property. It appealed to him. The request was refused.”
The other story reveals another side of a man whose steely reputation – at least one former Euromoney editor recalls being “reduced to rubble for my ignorance” – sometimes makes it difficult to remember his sense of humour. On his return from a business trip colleagues noticed that his shirts now sported Chinese characters on the pockets.
“What an excellent idea,” they remarked, “putting your name in Chinese on your shirt.”
“Name be dammed,” he retorted. ” It says ‘Do not starch’.”Simon Brady
