There was a real buzz in the air – the Forum proved its worth as a venue for people to come and meet.
Another positive indicator was provided by the standard of freebies the exhibitors were dishing out. It always makes me laugh to see well-paid professionals scrambling to get their hands on what often is a load of worthless tat, but this year most of the goodies were good and were given away in a spirit of fun and generosity. Virtually every bank was handing out memory sticks, which used to cost a fair few pennies but now are as cheap as (computer) chips.
I particularly liked the wind-up torch that the CME was handing out. Talking of wind ups, I tried to get my old mucker Andy Durrant, the exchange’s head of EMEA sales, in a spin by asking him if CME’s Globex platform was run on the same technology as the torch. But there wasn’t a flicker of interest from him. My children liked the mousetrap given away by State Street most. Standard Chartered wasn’t hindered by a rather dull stand, it had had the foresight to stock the fridge with ‘emerging market’ beer – an excellent way to ensure a crowd.