The creation of TheCityUK, the new body that will promote financial services, will mean the extinction of one of the oldest lobbying bodies in the City — International Financial Services London, or IFSL. This is the old British Invisibles that some may remember, then shortened to BI and then to the entirely unmemorable IFSL. Its 140 members have just been sent details of its limited future.
Over the next year or so it will be merged with TheCityUK and the two will end up in the same offices. The original body has its roots in a meeting at the Bank of England on March 13, 1968.
The lease on its offices on Cornhill, taken out at the top of the property market, expires fortuitously next year. Any new offices will be somewhat cheaper, I imagine — the details should be worked out by the new year. Stephen Wright, the IFSL chief executive, tells me he thinks the merger will benefit his members, and he will be selling it hard. But there will have to be a poll, and no one seems quite sure what happens in the unlikely event that members say no. One observer admits: “One doesn’t construct such outcomes in these matters.”
Pidgeon de Smit: never heard of ’em, much missed
Advertisement
As I wrote recently, the website Here Is The City is holding a poll on which extinct financial firm is most missed. I questioned whether anyone would actually mourn Pidgeon de Smit, which neither I nor Google had heard of. I am taken to task by no less than Stanislas Yassukovich, who used to run Merrill Lynch in Europe. “When I was a young apprentice at White Weld in the early 1960s, there was a half-commission man there, of Eastern European origin, who used to take me to lunch at the Great Eastern Hotel. Great firm.” Anyway, the winner of the vote, and the most dearly departed, is Lehman Brothers. Second, Dresdner Kleinwort. Third, Bear Stearns.
? Back in October they held a glitzy event in Dubai, at one of the huge and preposterous hotels there. It was “organised under the patronage” of the wife of the ruler of Dubai — I doubt she was too heavily burdened with the detail. It presented “the prestigious Leading Woman CFO Award”, which was “organised under the patronage”, etc, etc. And who won? Maryam Sharaf, chief operating officer and head bean counter of Dubai World. In October. I doubt even now they see the irony.
? Embarrassment at the Commons, which has run out of loo paper. Can our elected representatives get anything right? The HR people were suggesting alternatives. I am told one mentioned Hansard. I think he was joking.
Advertisement
In the blue corner: Alasdair Haynes
Heavy hitter takes on LSE
It was inevitable that Alasdair Haynes would end up somewhere. The exchanges veteran has just been confirmed as chief executive of Chi-X, one of the new rivals to the London Stock Exchange most likely to stay the course. Haynes used to run ITG Europe, the trading technology group, and has twice been mentioned as a possible chief executive of the LSE itself.
He was also touted as a possible boss of Turquoise, another rival exchange about to disappear into the LSE.
Advertisement
Haynes has been out of the market for much of the past year, part of it recovering from a nasty back operation. He has also been sharpening his golf skills. “I’ve been to golf school, golf academy — I probably now have the most expensive swing in golf,” he tells me.
“I’ve decided it’s time to come back to the City. Somebody’s got to compete against the LSE.”
Do you have a diary story? city.diary@thetimes.co.uk