Discover your dream Career
For Recruiters

When Jefferies fires people for behaving badly

Jefferies' CEO, Richard Handler, says the unvalidated complaints floating around the internet about harassment by some of its senior staff are not true. 

In a series of tweets posted last night, Handler said "similar specific accusations" had been posted "years ago", and that they had been "fully investigated and found to be categorically false." Nonetheless, Handler said the bank will, "once again conduct an independent investigation" into the latest round of allegations, which he suggested are misinformation.

Among other things, the allegations from unnamed individuals, which have not been validated, complain of poor behaviour from some senior bankers, a "toxic, uncomfortable, hostile sexualized culture," and a lack of emphasis on diversity within the firm. Juniors have allegedly left as a result. Jefferies' most recent annual report states that the bank puts all its staff through unconscious bias training, but doesn't commit to diversity hiring numbers like, say, Goldman Sachs. 

In an unrelated incident last year, Michael Stock, the CEO of Jefferies Australia was subject to an investigation by a Sydney law firm after a complaint was raised about the way he rebuked a junior following an interaction with a client. The Australian Financial Review said it was told that the report concluded there was no basis for further enquiry.

Jefferies has been known to take action against junior staff whose poor behavior has been validated. Earlier this year the bank is understood to have fired multiple analysts who were found to have made inappropriate salacious comments about a female client in an internal chatroom. At the time, the bank declined to comment.

In 2015, Dalal Belghiti, a former bond trader at Jefferies claimed that male colleagues rated female newscasters for their attractiveness and spent a male-only client ski trip drinking and having sex with women. Belghiti's court case was due to last 12 days, but she withdrew her claim after four days. 

In 2014, Sage Kelly, the former head of Jefferies' healthcare group, stepped down from his job after his wife made various accusations about their marriage during divorce proceedings. 

Click here to create a profile on eFinancialCareers. Make yourself visible to recruiters hiring for top jobs in technology and finance. 

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com in the first instance. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram also available (Telegram: @SarahButcher)

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)

author-card-avatar
AUTHORSarah Butcher Global Editor

Sign up to Morning Coffee!

Coffee mug

The essential daily roundup of news and analysis read by everyone from senior bankers and traders to new recruits.

Boost your career

Find thousands of job opportunities by signing up to eFinancialCareers today.
Recommended Articles
Recommended Jobs
Elevate Partners
Investment Associate - Cimate Fund
Elevate Partners
London, United Kingdom
Goodman Masson
Associate - Debt Advisory
Goodman Masson
London, United Kingdom
Paritas Recruitment - Data & Tech
Quantitative Researcher (Systematic Fund)
Paritas Recruitment - Data & Tech
London, United Kingdom
Metis Search
FIG Analyst - Global Bulge Bracket Investment Bank
Metis Search
London, United Kingdom

Sign up to Morning Coffee!

Coffee mug

The essential daily roundup of news and analysis read by everyone from senior bankers and traders to new recruits.