IS there a doctor in the house?
The ailing U.K. investment banks that pushed for presence on American soil appear to be in need of CPR.
Kleinwort Benson, Morgan Grenfell – things certainly haven’t fared well for those guys. The other U.K. banks are either in obscurity – ING Barings and UBS Warburg come to mind – or have a faint pulse amongst the deal makers (we’re thinking here of Schroder’s and Rothchild).
Now there’s plenty of speculation that Lazard Freres may be next to join the list. Though it continues to land several blockbuster M&A deals, it doesn’t have the capital base to continue to compete with the growing bank conglomerates.
Lazard’s cachet is slipping in the industry as tales of less stringent hiring standards and rumbles of disgruntled “Lazard Fairies” – the competition’s nickname for Lazard employees – hit the Street.
“Lazard had its most profitable year ever last year and is having another great year in 1999,” said a spokesman for the firm.