The Dastardly Mr. Deeds

Barclays boss Jes Staley impressed staff last week, convening a town hall meeting to allay fears following the referendum. Yachtowning Staley is a brash, buccaneering sort with a Boston growl, but enjoys a stronger rapport with Barclays workers than his meek, short-lived predecessor Antony Jenkins, 54. Says one banker: ‘ Jenkins used to never do this. All he’d do was apologise on our behalf.’ I am told Staley, 59, also eschews the exclusive lift Jenkins used which took him from the car park straight to the director’s floor. He prefers to arrive in the mornings through the front entrance. Deutsche Bank conducted a recent staff survey which makes glum reading, revealing less than half its workers felt proud to work at the firm. The embattled bank suffered morale-sapping losses of £5.1bn last year. It’s entirely possible Deutsche’s bluff, Yorkshire- born chief John Cryan’s observation that bankers are overpaid may also have knocked pampered conks out of joint. The Financial Times’s recent Festival of Finance featured a well-attended talk by ex- con artist-turned- consultant Steve Dagworthy. Essex bruiser Dagworthy, 52, who spent three years as a guest of Her Majesty after being found guilty of running a £3m Ponzi scheme, advises white collar criminals and their families how to cope with life in jail. Says a witness: ‘The place was rammed with spivvy City types. They were curiously attentive to what he had to say.’ Fund managers are now so fearful of the Bribery Act, it’s playing havoc with corporate troughing. A broker recently arranged a lunch with a senior figure at investment giant Blackrock, only to be warned he wouldn’t be able to accept hospitality costing higher than £50. ‘It was barely enough to cover a main course,’ groans one seasoned City trencherman. The wine can’t have been up to much, either. Gallic energy firm EDF sent out a press release yesterday affirming its commitment to the Hinkley Point energy plant, which was unhelpfully composed solely in French. After numerous pleas, an English version was finally issued several hours later. Après Brexit, a sign of Le Sulk to come?