Читать книгу Taming the Lion - Richard Farleigh - Страница 17

In cross-markets, one of our roles was to look for market inconsistencies, and to take advantage of them using the bank’s own funds. We were also responsible for the pricing of swaps, (sophisticated products that can protect businesses from volatility in currencies, interest rates and other markets).

Both of these activities were slightly complicated, but they were relatively low risk because we would simultaneously buy in one type of market and sell in another, leaving us with only a small exposure to market moves. After getting a grip on the mathematics involved, we usually had some time to plan our strategies, and to allow our positions to bear fruit. This type of thing suited me. I would never have made the grade if my job was to juggle phones like the book makers, or shout at the top of my voice like the floor traders. I liked having the chance to think, and to be able to watch things unfold over time.

Due to the relatively low risk, we were able to really go for it – our trades involved very large sums of money. So, here I was in my early twenties, with a few grand in the bank, a cheap suit and no real experience, and I was on the phone doing deals worth tens and hundreds of millions. I was so happy to feel that important. I knew I’d been given a big chance, and I didn’t want to mess it up. I had to be careful and check the calculations carefully before I did anything. Even a slip of the tongue could be dangerous, because saying ‘buy’ instead of ‘sell’ could obviously cost a lot of money. Once I fretted for an entire weekend thinking I had made just that mistake. On the Monday, I found that I hadn’t. The relief was like waking from a bad dream.

I stayed in this role for three or four years, and during that time we enjoyed a lot of success despite the low risks. It was great, there were no major problems and I became accustomed to dealing in large amounts of other people’s money. It was lucrative too. I had nervously taken a pay cut when I joined Bankers Trust, but my salary took off like a rocket and continued to rise while I was at the Bank. Starting at twenty thousand dollars at the age of twenty four, it more or less doubled every year: to fifty, one hundred, two hundred and fifty, five hundred, and then to one million and beyond by the age of thirty. That was big money, especially fifteen years ago. My friends couldn’t believe it, and I couldn’t believe it would go on. So, like a squirrel, I saved just about all of it.