City Diaries

The past week has seen more turbulence for the financial world. Chancellor Alistair Darling outlined plans for the UK economy in his pre-Budget report and the European Commission unveiled an economic recovery plan worth 200bn euros (£170bn).

Our City Diaries are written by people who work in finance and have had a front row seat as their industry goes through the biggest changes in decades.

They will be giving us regular insiders' updates on the mood in the City of London and the dramatic changes in the world of finance.

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STEPHEN

Stephen (not his real name) has worked in the City of London for over a decade.

During the chancellor's pre-Budget report and the opposition's response, there were alternate gasps of disbelief and jeers of contempt across our trading floor. It's utterly bewildering how our political system has managed to put such innumerates, however well-meaning, in charge of our economy.

I, like many of my City brethren, am a politician's nightmare. I'm a free-thinking, floating voter so I won't cast one party in good light and another in bad. They all have their failings, although the real issue is bigger than any one party. Nothing that was said will really make any difference, because the underlying problems remain and this is why so many City folk view politicians as an amusing but mostly irrelevant side-show. Some colleagues were pounding their desks in despair.

The recent news from Citigroup that they're laying off 75,000 workers has hardly registered on my already numb colleagues. Sentiment among my peers has never been worse in all the time I've been in this business. People talk of going on holiday and not coming back.

One observed that the 75,000 layoffs will "leave" Citigroup with 300,000 staff, the same as the population of Iceland. It's a bitter irony that as the Icelanders talk of leaving home, there's the same talk in England, which arguably had an instrumental role in Iceland's economic collapse.

It's hard to believe that so few of them put something away in the good times, so it's with trepidation that huddled groups at the coffee bar speculate on what the next decade might look like. Two years ago in Reykjavik, London and New York, we all thought the intoxicating boom would never end. Now the long faces ask: "what on Earth made us take collective leave of our senses?"

Read Stephen's first diary entry

TOM

Tom (not his real name) works in an investment bank in the City of London.

Redundancies have been coming thick and fast. I will never forget how we joked about which one of us would "go". One of the more senior guys, "James", said he knew it would be him, jokingly remarking that the bank did, after all, have to trim the fat.

I was among the first people at work. I had a feeling that this was it, today was the day when things would happen. It's wrong to admit it, but I was somewhat excited by it all. I was going to witness what I heard about, even if it happened to me. Rumours were that hundreds of people would go worldwide. Everyone came in and we got on with the day's work, with the usual banter. "James" had gone outside, as he usually does. Half an hour later we were summoned to a meeting.

We went into the big meeting room and everyone stood against the wall, whilst the head honcho sat down at the table. We were told that things were tough, that market conditions had forced some adjustments to be made. As we got back to our desks and digested the news, it dawned on me that "James" was gone. So was "Anna." Rumours about who else had gone from other floors began to do the rounds.

I found out that the way people are told to go is very simple. You get a call from human resources, who tell you that you have to go and see them immediately. You are told that you are going and that they will be in touch regarding your redundancy. Whilst you are told this, your colleagues are summoned for a meeting. A security guard escorts you to your desk and you pick your belongings, without being able to say goodbye to anyone. You are escorted out of the building, where you surrender your pass and that is pretty much it.

Read Tom's first diary entry

CAROLINE

Caroline (not her real name) works in a High Street branch of a large UK bank.

I was wondering how long it would be before dissension amongst the ranks! Every conversation is being listened to, every move monitored.

We used to work well as a team but now it seems everyone is out for themselves no matter who gets trampled on in the process. The all important "sales" seem to take precedence over everything else.

Each day we are hearing conflicting versions of progress from the press and from head office. The worst scenario is a huge percentage of us will be out of work next year.

It is not a good time to be looking for alternative employment as I have found out recently. There are so many unemployed and desperate people competing for ever decreasing jobs. How I wish we could go back to the days of good old fashioned customer service!

Read Caroline's first diary entry

DANIEL

Daniel (not his real name) works for the London branch of an international investment bank.

The recent weeks will not be quickly forgotten. The US voted for its next President and the Bank of England slashed rates to an astonishing three percent. Sadly none of this news appears to be having a positive effect. The FTSE has become a roller coaster - good news makes it go down, bad news makes it go up. The word "trend" has evaporated and the only thing that remains semi-predictable these days is the weather.

E-mail subjects have become an area of concern. E-mails titled "Staff Announcement", "Employee Reminder" or "Management Review" get everyone panicking and thinking the day has come to outline lay-offs. To make matters worse, personal battles have now begun between several colleagues. These are classic work-place power struggles but this time they involve the fear of job losses. Everyone is trying to stand their ground or stand out, making sure all the big bosses know who is pulling their weight. Looking unoccupied is risky.

We have managed to find several new places to have our lunch for under £5. A quick stroll in the Square Mile will reveal that many eateries are either closed, closing down or looking rather empty these days. There is still plenty of resentment towards bankers on the street. The days of walking tall and proud with a City pin-stripe suit are dwindling. People are now all about blending in.

Everyone loves a scapegoat and the public seem to love putting the blame on the bankers for their grief and discontent. While many bankers and firms have to be accountable for their actions, the public has forgotten how we got here in the first place. The UK has one of the highest personal debt figures and hunger for bigger mortgages, bigger loans and bigger credit limits forced banks to find creative ways to artificially increase their lending power. So why are bankers the only ones to blame? Shouldn't we all be equally accountable? We are all in the same boat - we are all the same people at the end of the day.

Read Daniel's first diary entry

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