Peregrine's last days, by Andre Lee
First start in investment banking
Pioneering the Asian bond business
The approach of the Asian financial crisis
Presumably it was some time before you were actually printing any business at Peregrine. The break-through point didn't really come until December 1994 when we had a first beach meeting and I sat down and told people: "Look, we've been given a great responsibility, we said we could deliver certain things, we are having a hard time right now, business isn't happening as we expected. If we don't deliver the goods in the next 12 months we have to reason with each other right now and say that maybe we won't have a job any more, so we've really got to get on the right track quickly."
It was my way of trying to motivate people, in saying that we just can't sit here and pretend, and build infrastructure for ever. We have to actually do something because it's not like Peregrine has the capital and the resources to subsidize us for ever. And Peregrine is a fast-moving firm where they have had a successful tradition in growing businesses and achieving results and demanding that one can turn around and deliver the goods.