Two Tribes

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A reminder that paid subscribers get exclusive access to my podcast, Net Interest Extra. Last week, I interviewed two of my favorite bank analysts, John McDonald and Brian Foran of Truist Securities. We talked about regulation and consolidation and credit and all the other big themes in the sector. Next week, I’m looking forward to talking to Sarah Quinn, author of the terrific book American Bonds which reshaped the way I look at credit provision in the US. If you’re not already signed up to the full Net Interest package, you can do so here.Subscribe nowWhen I joined Credit Suisse First Boston in London in the early 2000s, the firm had already been in its gleaming new Canary Wharf office for almost a decade. Most of my first few weeks were spent getting to know my way around the equities floor – meeting colleagues, learning the rhythms of the place. It was only when I ventured onto the fixed income floor that I realised something was off. It was bigger. Noticeably so. At the time, this seemed odd. Equity markets were ascendant, the focus of the firm’s attention. In the few years before I joined, equities had consistently dwarfed fixed income in revenue.The explanation lay in the building’s history. When CSFB moved in during 1991, bonds were where the money was and the floor plan reflected that. It was the same across Wall Street. Michael Lewis recalls that at Salomon Brothers, “the equity department wasn’t on 41, the principal trading floor, but on the floor below. The fortieth floor had low ceilings, no windows, and the charm of an engine room.” Inside Salomon Brothers, he…