A Warning from Buffet about Banks
So how to explain Mr. Buffett’s stance on the industry?
An investment banker and blogger who has long offered incisive and witty insights about the industry under the name Epicurian Dealmaker offered this take over the weekend: “He despises investment bankers and employs his considerable folksy charm to scare potential business sellers away from using us for the plain and simple reason that we make his job harder and more expensive. For sellers of companies, investment banks level the playing field.”
.. Jeffrey Matthews, a longtime Buffett watcher and author of “Secrets in Plain Sight: Business and Investing Secrets of Warren Buffett,” has a very simple explanation of Mr. Buffett’s views on bankers. “The short answer is, he means it,” he told me. “I see no non sequitur regarding his investment banker critiques: He’s pals with Obama, but he critiques politicians as a class too. The few good ones (Dimon, Blankfein, Byron Trott) just make the rest look worse, I suppose.”