It’s the middle of the day and a crowd is gathering to watch a guy eat a family-sized jar of mayonnaise – that’s 64 fluid ounces of emulsified egg and oil – in under an hour. Earlier that month another man was dressed up as Ronald McDonald and told to go and get eight Big Macs, which he then had 30 minutes to consume. In a room down the road, someone else is being pelted with yet more hamburgers whilst the precious few women invited to the party look on, trying not to appear too out of place. Ever been asked to consume a bottle of sherry and five packs of jelly in half an hour? Or 10 hot wings? Maybe a gallon of milk? No? Us neither. But then we’re not part of a culture designed to test the loyalty and determination of its members to the very limits. And when we say ‘members’ we don’t mean American college freshman being hazed to get into a fraternity – the people in these initiation challenges are (very well paid) grown men and women. They’re bankers and brokers working in the city and, when they're not chucking hamburgers at each other, they’re running our economy.
A City broker is now taking his former employers to court after being fired for refusing to take part in an ‘initiation ritual’
Remember, oh, two years ago, when, in the midst of a massive economic downturn, everyone hated bankers? Well it turns out that they're back in fashion again. Since the success of The Wolf of Wall Street, interest in City jobs has skyrocketed. Searches on Google for stockbroker roles rose by nearly 80 per cent in the US around the release of the film, with a subsequent 44 per cent spike in UK searches this January when the film was released here. This year's graduates, who are emerging, blinking, from the safety of university right now will be the first to feel the pull of an industry which has, thanks to Martin Scorsese, Leonardo Dicaprio and enough cocaine to kill a medium-sized horse, has once again become exciting and glamorous. But let's be realistic – it's never going to be like the film, is it?
Well, a recent lawsuit suggests we might be wrong, because a City broker is now taking his former employers to court after being fired for refusing to take part in an ‘initiation ritual’. In an employment tribunal last week, broker Robert Bou-Simon alleged his former employers BGC Partners told him to run across the trading floor whilst others threw water at him after completing his first trade. Bou-Simon refusal to participate, which apparently ‘did not go down well with my colleagues on the floor’, who chanted ‘only men run’, according to his witness statement. The broker claims he was forced to resign after suffering a campaign of abuse from his colleagues, who, he claims ‘not only hated me’ but ‘promoted that hate throughout the floor’. While BGC are defending this claim, it isn’t the first time it has made it into the news. Robin Clark, the former executive managing director at BGC, was shot in the leg at Shenfield train station, Essex, in January. A former colleague at BGC was later arrested. But are these just isolated incidents, or is this sort of thing as endemic in the financial industry as The Wolf of Wall Street implies?
‘Things are nowhere near as bad as they used to be, but when you get a load of lads into a room together, it quickly descends into schoolboy stuff,’ 25-year old Natasha, who has been a broker for four years, tells The Debrief. ‘But surely you know what to expect when you get into this kind of a profession? Plus, I’m sorry, but getting some water thrown on you really isn’t that bad, is it? It sounds like this guy [Robin Bou-Simon] simply isn’t cut out for broking, which has a culture of pranking. I’ve heard of a junior being duct-taped to a chair, completely naked, and put into a lift that was then sent up and down the building. Part of the job of an intern or junior is to be everyone’s dogsbody and get people’s breakfast and lunches and, if you get that wrong, you can be absolutely torn apart – even as a woman.’
The job’s all about attention to detail – if you can’t get a breakfast order right, how can you be trusted with thousands and thousands of pounds?
It’s easy to think that these initiation challenges and pranks played on juniors are just part of a typical lad culture allowed to slide to its (admittedly pretty gross) conclusion, but those in the industry believe that the ribbing of the graduates, interns and junior members of staff actually serves an important purpose. ‘Some people come from university thinking that they’re better than this, but it’s just the way it is and everyone’s had to do it and you basically just have to get on with being treated like a moron if you want to make it,’ Robert, 27, who has been a broker for six years, explains to The Debrief. ‘Dealing with difficult people is part of the job – clients aren’t typically very easy people and, if you fuck something up, they’re unlikely to just say “don’t worry about it”. Being ribbed and, yes, a bit abused as an intern teaches you never to fuck it up and drop the ball. Plus, the job’s all about attention to detail – if you can’t get a breakfast order right, how can you be trusted with thousands and thousands of pounds?’
Natasha believes that, whilst training is part of it, the most important function of all the, as she puts it, ‘childishness’ is to get people to like you. ‘Essentially you can get a monkey sat in front of a computer screen to do what most brokers do – it’s just repeating numbers – but how do you get the business? It’s by making people like you, that’s how you get people to go to you when they could go elsewhere. That means going out every single night any making an impression. One of the things my company do is take grads out and give them as many lethal cocktails as possible and the last one standing will get the jobs.’ Robert agrees: ‘No one likes to go out and talk about work and clients are exactly the same. They want to get wrecked and it’s my job to show them a good time so they remember me next time they want to do a deal. So, yes, that means taking them to strip clubs, helping them pick up girls, booze, posh meals and a lot of cocaine. Sleeping on your desk the next day is very standard. You have to make them believe that you’re friends in any way you can.’
It’s not uncommon for people to buy houses and sports cars a couple of years into the job
And if you do succeed then you can stand to make a lot of money. Both are reluctant to reveal how much they’re earning now, but Robert does admit that his starting intern’s salary was £35,000. After two years, a 23 year-old woman in Natasha’s office got a £70,000 bonus on top of her salary. It’s not uncommon for people to buy houses and sports cars a couple of years into the job. But Natasha thinks that all the money on offer actually acts like a prison, especially for young women in the industry, pushing them into stuff they'd never do without the promise of a big pay check. ‘It’s part of the job to flirt with people you probably find vile. Young, hot women usually progress quite quickly if they’ve got the balls to shout back in the office as well,’ she explains. ‘There have been certain situations in the past that have been dodgy and I’ve felt uncomfortable with. When you’re out drinking, they may try it on with you and try to kiss you or pinch your arse, so girls will allow that to happen because they think to themselves “this guy is paying for my job” and it’s a lot of money. Sometimes clients get prostitutes, especially in Asia. We have a saying in the business “blow for bro” which means blowjobs for brokering – that you’re willing to get on your knees to get you commission. It happens, but I didn’t go to university to become a whore.’
Natasha also believes that the sexualised atmosphere can sometimes lead to inappropriate behaviour. ‘I’ve heard of many cases of sexual harassment that have been hushed up,’ she explains. ‘I heard of one girl in London with a case that got settled out of court. Her boss had been taking photographs up her skirt. Some people might brush that off as banter, but it’s clearly not OK. Some managers encourage you to have sex with clients or date them. It’s never outwardly said, but depending of where you are there might be an expectation. It’s stupid, because they might give you business now, but it will only be another girl the next deal. The people who pretend like it’s always on the cards when it actually never is – they’re the ones who make the most money, the cock teases. There was a concerted effort a couple of years ago to get more women into the industry, but obviously it’s not the most progressive environment for women to work. I honestly think that a lot of women get into the City are very naïve and they don’t know what it is to be a banker or broker. It’s not quite as bad as The Wolf of Wall Street, but the general feel is pretty bang on.’
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophiecullinane
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.