"You can’t talk about ROE when you don’t know what the ‘E’ is going to be"
Vikram Pandit, chief executive of Citigroup, is using return on assets rather than equity for the time being as a measure of performance while the treatment of bank capital remains uncertain
(see Banker of the year: Vikram Pandit)
"I think the first quarter was one of our best ever. It’s an interesting world where you can have a 23% return on equity, the highest among the global banks, and have people say it was a disappointing quarter"
Brady Dougan, chief executive of Credit Suisse, admits some analysts and investors have not grasped the consequences of a low-risk model after a bumper quarter for the banking industry
(see Bank of the Year: Credit Suisse)
"Intellectually, it was the right thing to do and these were decisions that had to be taken for the good of the business and for shareholders. Emotionally, it was gut-wrenching and it’s the toughest part of being a manager"
Anshu Jain, head of the investment bank at Deutsche, describes the conflicting dynamics of his decision to exit many of the businesses that had made his name, and Deutsche Bank a lot of money, before the credit crisis
(see Investment bank of the year: Deutsche Bank)
"Investment banking used to be a great job.