New banking regulations are making it slightly tougher for financial institutions to pull in the boatloads of money they did during the last bubble, but they’re also hurting the little guy. You know, the investors who went to business school expecting one thing, and have ended up totally screwed, just like doctors: “The notion that somehow going to medical school would deliver you substantial wealth and prestige is no longer true,” as one investment banker put it. There are those job cuts, and then there are those people just struggling to get by. Try not to get teary-eyed reading this one:
[Michael Karp, a recruiter] said he met last month over tea at the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York with a trader who made $500,000 last year at one of the six largest U.S. banks.
The trader, a 27-year-old Ivy League graduate, complained that he has worked harder this year and will be paid less. The headhunter told him to stay put and collect his bonus.
It’s even affecting the way they eat. “A couple of years ago, the hottest place to go would be someplace that they just spent $5 million decorating and they’ve got three or four models answering the phones. People want stripped-down now,” said one hedge-funder.
Another complained about stress and added, “Everybody hates me.” Why ever could that be?
Wall Street Sees ‘No Exit’ From Financial Woes [Bloomberg]
