The string of suicides among the leading bank employees is indicative of the change in trend. The major Wall Street banks including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, subsequently told junior bankers to take more time off since the death at Bank of America last August of a 21-year-old Bank of America intern who died after reportedly working consecutive all-nighters at the bank’s London office.
Also last August, the finance chief at Zurich Insurance Group AG committed suicide and left a note blaming the company’s chairman for creating an unbearable work environment.
The economy is turning against the banks and this string of deaths is warning about this change in trend that is serious and major. “Jumpers”, as they were known during the 1930s (having nothing to do with the English term meaning a sweater) was also common when the cycle turned south against the banks and they increased pressure on staff to try to stem the tide against collapsing business.
The highs are in place for the bankers and their days are truly numbered. Young kids getting into the field previously bragged about their job to impress girls in New York. The word is now they do not boast so much because bankers have popularity polls that are not that much above Congress. The American Banker reports that the public polls show 52% were “very angry” at Congress, while only 49% were angry at the “large banks that were bailed out.”
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