A rare behind-the-scenes look at how Wall Street makes money. The book answers questions people affected by the financial crisis have been waiting for like how the system works and how to fix it in easy to understand language. Confidential conversations reveal what went wrong with the mortgage market and what needs to change from insiders themselves. The book bridges the gap between Main Street and Wall Street and outlines practical solutions for the future.Peter Ressler is the CEO of a premier Wall Street executive search firm RMG Search in New York and an expert on Wall Street human Capital with 30 years experience as a talent broker for the top investment banks and hedge funds including Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. Peter is an internationally renowned speaker on Business Ethics and value-based leadership. He holds a degree in business from Cornell. Monika Mitchell is the CEO of Good Business InternationalTM Inc. in New York, a new media company dedicated to socially sustainable business and named by the Washington Post Leadership Playlist as “Standout Company of the Year†in 2010. Monika is an acclaimed leader on “better world business†& women’s empowerment. She pens the popular Economy of TrustTM blog. Monika was COO of Wall Street recruiting firm RMG Search for 12 years.
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Peter Ressler. Conversations With Wall Street
Conversations With Wall Street. The Inside Story of the Financial Armageddon & How to Prevent the Next One. Peter Ressler & Monika Mitchell
Dedication
Contents
Preface
Foreword
The Epiphany
Fear and Loathing in Flatbush
The Street
Early Days at Lehman
The Resurrection
History in the Making
Shattered Dreams
Money Troubles
Easy Money
Profits without Purpose
The Twenty-Eight Dollar Tomato
A Social Mission
What Drives Wall Street?
The Game
The Assembly Line
Blaming the Little Guy
Game Over
Armageddon
The Business of Selling Bonds
Eat What You Kill
Buyer Beware
Darwinian Finance
No Glory in War
The Speed of Money
The Engine that Drives Wall Street
The Royal Flush
Waking Up
Speeding Up
A Demon Called Leverage
The Street Gets Velocitized
The Fortunate Sons
The Net Force of Greed
A Social Mess
Greed as Our Guide
Double or Nothing
Taking Stock
A Scheme of One’s Own
Defense and Denial
The Nature of Economy
Organic Usury
Skin in the Game
Creative Banking
Primitive Lending
Rotten Sardines
The Value of a Home
Orderly and Efficient Markets
Nature as Our Template
Free Market Freefall
Numbers Norman
Ego Arbitrage
Laws are Made to Be Broken
When Money Was Real
Failure in Leadership
The Wisdom of Our Fathers
The “Good” Wall Street
My Word is My Bond
Putting Clients First
Long-Term Vision
Moral Hazard
The Good, Bad and Ugly
Playing with the Big Boys
Honor in Finance
Caught in the Trap
Fair Profits
The Social Purpose of Banking
The Balancing Act of Finance
Homeowner Help
Humane Foreclosure
New Model for Finance
The Road to Recovery
Hope for the Future
A Moral Crisis
Big Boys and Little People
The Future
Epilogue: The Social Contract
Sources
Index
About the Authors
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“Peter Ressler and Monika Mitchell’s insightful new book transforms complex financial history into the stuff of real life. “Conversations with Wall Street” is a riveting expose and desperately needed reminder that noble character still fuels our nation. Brilliant in its simplicity, complemented by insider perspectives gathered first-hand during Wall Street’s most tumultuous years, this is a book to be studied, cherished, and put to immediate practical use.”
Prof. Joshua M. Greene, Hofstra University
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In business, the old contract said great power also required great responsibility. In the past we grew accustomed to business leaders stepping forward to act with honor, even if it somehow hurt the short-term interests of their own company. But what we see and hear from the Wall Street of today, great power simply converts into even greater wealth, greater hoarding and greater extravagances for the few men at the top. If they are rich, the logic goes, it must be because they deserve to be rich—which can only mean they deserve to be even richer!
In business, the old contract said business was part of society, that to earn its charter, business had to serve a social purpose. Not just to give something back after chalking up a huge profit, but to link its central core purpose with something beneficial to the larger community. The Wall Street we see in this book measures its performance purely in dollars—it’s only purpose is to create more money in as short a time as possible. Shareholder value creation is the only metric, and once achieved, the only logical next step is to increase it. Money for the sake of money is the tautology that rules the game.
