Investment firm Barclays Capital won't be celebrating the holidays this year. Executive committee member and chief operating officer Rich Ricci broke the news yesterday in a letter to the company’s staff, republished on Wall Street blog Dealbreaker.
Ricci praised the company’s resilience in the rough economy and its handling of the Lehman Brothers acquisition, but insisted there’s no way to celebrate as a firm or by department. “In the current difficult environment for our industry and for the economy as a whole, which affects not just financial services firms but our clients as well,” Ricci wrote, “it is not appropriate for us to do anything that might be seen as inappropriate by any of our stakeholders.”
Many other large financial institutions, like Dresdner Kleinwort and Bank of America, are rumored to be ditching their holiday parties as well, but publicists at the companies could not confirm any plans. Citigroup, however, made the call to definitely avoid a formal celebration. A spokesperson shared with us via email Thursday afternoon that "Citi is not sponsoring any holiday parties [this year]."
