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Sunday 19 October 2008

The curse of Broadgate?

Is there a curse on the banks and financial traders who used to occupy the Broadgate development in the City of London from 1990?

Consider the tenants:

Various Japanese Banks - long since disappeared.

Williams de Broe - part of BBL, bought by ING, but nearly incsolvent in 2005 and sold for virtually nil in 2006.

Bankers Trust - corporately convicted of fraud, unable to trade and bought by Deutsche bank.

Warburg - merged with UBS.

UBS - Lost $42 billion and currently being bailed out by the Swiss government.

Shearson Lehman - became Lehman Brothers and the rest is history.

Babcock & Brown - share price is 5% of last year's price.

AIG Financial Products - currently bringing down its AAA parent with losses on its unhedged 500 billion CDS book.

HBOS - failed miserably, forced to merge with LLoyds TSB.

RBS - failing miserably, 60% nationalised.

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