The official "Bloodbath in the City... doomed!" thread

[alphadog]

More doom over at HSBC

HSBC cuts IT contractor pay rates :: Contractor UK

[FatLazyContractor]

[BlasterBates]

Doom at RBS

RBS Investment Bank's Loss Almost Doubles Amid Overhaul - Bloomberg Business

[_V_]

Doom at RBS

RBS Investment Bank's Loss Almost Doubles Amid Overhaul - Bloomberg Business

HTF can these banks lose money? Surely they can borrow it from central banks at negative interest rates and then buy a few London properties in Mayfair? Easy double your money, rinse and repeat.

[Dallas]

Rent, legal fees, fines, IT projects that go boom and us - easy!

[OwlHoot]

I've earned a lot of money over recent years cleaing up messes - HSBC's global money laundering, Virgin Money picking the bones of Northern Rock, Citi having to sell off its retail loan portfolios and Deutsche itself - toxic mortgages.

Banks over the last 20 years have made very pedestrian profits if you factor out all the wild gambling and consequent bale outs but we consultants don't make money off business-as-usual. We thrive on ebb and flow, rise and fall. The last thing we want is the likes of Deutsche to tick over like a swiss watch. It's about building and demolishing. Architects and demolition experts get paid a lot more than janitors and window cleaners.

Nicely put, and very true.