George Osborne steps up the stretching exercises

George Osborne
Power broker

Is George Osborne now practising an even wider “power stance”? The former chancellor — whose legs akimbo pose at Tory conference first projected his omnificence to the nation (and invited Twitter comparisons to John Wayne, Beyoncé and a child on a skiing lesson) — evidently thinks he can stretch to more than advising BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, and editing the Evening Standard, London’s most absorbent newspaper. And his move to bestride the City as a partner at takeover gurus Robey Warshaw doubtless prompted his tailor to suggest his new pinstripes have a reinforced inside leg. But it has also prompted questions in the Square Mile. What was it that first attracted him to millionaires Simon Robey and Simon Warshaw (profits distributable to the firm’s three partners were £207m in the past six years)? Was Osborne advised by his former chief civil servant, John Kingman (supremely connected as chair of Legal & General?) Or by his former special adviser and now girlfriend Thea Rogers (recently credited with the cut of his suits, hair and jib — if not that stance). Could his presence even lead to a power struggle? A few months after Warshaw joined the then Robertson Robey partnership in 2013, co-founder Sir Simon Robertson announced “Simon Robey and I have decided that it suits both of our aspirations if we move our business into two separate entities”, noting how the firm had “evolved . . . with Simon Warshaw’s arrival”. At least Osborne’s original first name was Gideon, not Simon.

Tosin Akinluyi
Education pays

For the City’s graduate intake of 2022, there may not be much “work experience” on the CV. But US bank Morgan Stanley is determined that 25 students from ethnic minority and disadvantaged backgrounds have better memories of university than debt and lockdown. It is offering them internships plus £10,000 each towards tuition and living costs. Tosin Akinluyi, who is driving its strategy, calls the scholarships a “big leap forward in tackling ethnic and socio-economic disparities”. And with some of the internships on a “summer analysts” course, participants should also see a big leap backwards in personal leverage ratios.

Shriti Vadera
Eastern premise

Change is coming quickly at Prudential. New chair Shriti Vadera has sped up plans to split off the insurer’s US business, and brought more Asian experience on to the board. On Thursday, the Pru appointed former Singtel chief executive Chua Sock Koong and KKR Asia boss Ming Lu as non-exec directors. It has also said it wants more Asian investors on its shareholder register. A London headquartered (and listed) group that operates only in Asia and Africa? Sounds a bit like Standard Chartered. But perhaps Lady Vadera has another big move up her sleeve . . . 

Sam Woods
Negative vibes

Sam Woods, head of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority, hosted a video conference on Thursday about the adaptability of lenders’ computer systems. It was meant to explain to journalists the technicalities involved in accommodating negative interest rates — should they ever be introduced here. About two seconds into his first answer in the Q&A session, Woods froze, then disappeared, never to return. A good way to dodge difficult economic questions — just not entirely reassuring.