February Fever Becomes March Madness: Mass Banking Resignations Continue Unabated
28th March 2012
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
Previously I covered a small slice of the huge number of resignations of executives of financial institutions across the globe, and surprisingly these have not seemed to slow down at all.
At the time, we posted a mere 40 resignations, now that number has jumped up to a shocking 450. These include major figures in everything from saving retirement funds to equity funds, sovereign wealth funds, banks, investment houses and other financial institutions.
The big question that remains from all of this is: why?
Currently the answer to that is unknown and anyone offering a concrete answer is engaging in pure speculation.
One of the most recent resignations is Tarek Amer, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Bank of Egypt. He announced that he will be stepping down from his position at the end of 2012, according to the Egyptian Al Ahram Weekly. Interestingly, he stated that he has not received offers from any other banks and refused to disclose why he was leaving. Apparently Amer first submitted his resignation in February 2011 but it was not accepted.
Also recently announced was the resignation of the UK’s Bank of America Corporation’s Jonathan Moulds. In addition to Moulds quitting, Andrea Orcel, the chairman of global banking and markets, is slated to leave Bank of America Corp. (BAC) to head to UBS AG.
According to Bloomberg, these resignations will be “depriving the firm of two of its most senior executives in Europe.”
Moulds used to oversee the debt and equity sales and trading for both Europe and Asia, in addition to playing a large role in creating BAC’s over-the-counter derivatives trading practices. He also held prominent positions including the global head of rate derivatives trading, the head of global derivatives and the head of global rates and commodities.
Unsurprisingly, there is no clear reason for this individual to resign.
On the same day that the resignation of Moulds was announced, it was also divulged that the Chief Investment Officer at the Nedlloyd Pension Fund, Bert Tibben, stepped down.
Also on that day, March 22, 2012, it came out that Neil Rogan, the head of global equity at Henderson Global Investors in the UK resigned.
March 21 brought no less than five resignations. These included the global head of equity prime services at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Gregory Wagner; Mike Miller, the Ontario and Atlantic regional manager for National Bank Financial in Canada; John Botham, the European equity head for Aviva Investors; Eric Dean, the Chief Information Officer for Liquidity Services Inc.; and Wolfgang Hammes, the co-head of Deutsche Bank AG.
The mysterious and rapid nature of these resignations is quite interesting and makes one wonder what is behind all of this.
Do they know something we do not? Are they preparing for something and cutting their losses? Unfortunately, with how little we know, it is anyone’s best guess. I wish I could tell you that I know why this is going on, but I would be lying.
There is now a Facebook page which is tracking the mass resignations, which I encourage you to visit for the most up-to-date listings of resignations of major figures in financial institutions, government, and other companies.
About the Author
Madison Ruppert is the Editor and Owner-Operator of the alternative news and analysis database End The Lie and has no affiliation with any NGO, political party, economic school, or other organization/cause. He is available for podcast and radio interviews. If you have questions, comments, or corrections feel free to contact him at admin@EndtheLie.com