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March 23, 2006
I-Banker Flags at Half-Mast Today
More than a few investment bankers are in a funk these days. Proposed rule changes on Wall Street would make it more difficult for bankers to pass off visits to strip clubs as meetings. As one banker put it to me years ago when this idea was first proposed, "Why do this shit if you can't have fun?" Apparently seven-figure incomes aren't enough, and regular nudity is also required. Fascinating.Anyway, USA Today has the latest on the story, including a quote from a former VC's assistant (female) currently working as a stripper. Rather than quoting from USAT, however, the wording of the proposed rule changes is such fun that let's just go straight there:
"The rule will require each member or member organization to develop written policies and procedures, tailored to that organization's business model, designed to define forms of entertainment that are appropriate and inappropriate and to detect and prevent entertainment that is intended as an inducement for obtaining customer business, or could give rise to a conflict of interest."I am particularly fond of the quote "...prevent entertainment that is intended as an inducement for obtaining customer business". Perhaps I'm not sufficiently Puritanical (although I'm baffled by the longstanding i-banker fondness for strip clubs), but isn't the whole point of business entertainment to obtain and/or grow customers? Yeesh.
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What they don't reference is that the bills don't just get charged back to the investment bank...they end up charged back to the clients. These bills are getting paid by Ford and P&G.
if you can show me one enterprise level salesman (thats what an ibanker is) that doesn't take (if budget permits=high product price) his prospects to strip clubs, I will show you either a woman or an unemployed salesman.
its just part of sales in male dominated industries.
it definitely ain't gonna change anytime soon, law or no law.
lol, good one
yeesh, indeed