[ by Howard Haykin ]

While shares of most companies in the C-I Financial Services Index ended the week flat, several industry people and firms experienced highs and lows.  So, here are our 5 winners and 5 losers, followed by accounts of the event(s) that earned them those distinctions. 

Winners for Week Ended 10/12/12 (no rankings assigned):  

• Irene Dorner, CEO of HSBC USA.
• Ann Marie Petach, CFO of BlackRock.
• The CFTC and Chairman Gary Gensler.
• DLA Piper.
• Morgan Stanley.

Losers for Week Ended 10/12/12 (no rankings assigned):

• Douglas Braunstein, CFO of JPMorgan Chase.
• H. David Kotz, Former Inspector General of the SEC.
• George Roberts of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and Hamilton James of Blackstone Group.
• Goldman Sachs Group.
• JPMorgan Chase.

Read profiles of each - after the jump. 

Irene Dorner, CEO of HSBC USA.  

Ms. Dorner topped the list of The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking - as compiled by American Bankers.  Dorner's edge lies in her authenticity - when the CEO of HSBC USA speaks, it feels real, not only because of the honesty and confidence she conveys, but because of the actions backing up the words. 

Dorner's current commitment is to change the culture at HSBC, and the bank's 17,000 employees understand this to mean that Dorner is demanding more from them.  This follows some big missteps by the bank in the United States, from its 2003 purchase of Household International to more recent problems in compliance with anti-money laundering rules. Dorner, an Oxford-trained lawyer who has spent most of her 33-year career with HSBC, was dispatched to New York in 2010 to help the company's U.S. business regroup.

Testifying on Capitol Hill this summer, she showed why it was smart to entrust her with the task. She struck just the right notes of respectfulness, resoluteness and reconciliation with the Senate panel probing the bank's AML problems. She promised to fix things, and left no room for doubt that she would.

To continue reading, click source reference link in:  WHO'S News, 10/12/12.

Anne Marie Petach, CFO of BlackRock.

Ms. Petach topped the American Bankers' list of The 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance.   As CFO, Petach works in a soaring skyscraper in midtown Manhattan - a long way away from the greasy, gritty Ford Motor plant in Michigan where she started her career.  She took the entry-level job as a financial analyst thinking it would be a good way to learn corporate finance, and that her stay with the automaker would last no longer than three years.

Twenty-three years later, Petach was serving as Ford's treasurer, a role that led to her job at BlackRock, which helped Ford with its debt issuance and pension fund management. Petach got to know BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink, and once asked for his advice on a job opportunity that came her way. He told her not to take it, and soon hired her himself, bringing her on board in 2007 as head of business finance, and making her CFO a year later.
Petach defies the stereotype of the CFO as corporate bean counter. She is a strategic adviser both internally and to key clients. In addition to chairing BlackRock's capital committee and co-chairing its corporate risk committee, she sits on the firm's global executive, global operating and government relations steering committees.

To continue reading, click source reference link in:  WHO'S News, 10/12/12.

The CFTC and Its Chairman Gary Gensler.  

2012 was a record-setting year for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.  Led by its aggressive and forward-seeking chairman, the agency filed the most enforcement actions in its 38-year history - 102 enforcement actions in F/Y/E 9/30/12, up from 57 cases filed in 2010. 

That is wonderful news for the CFTC, which appears to have "come out of its shell" and taken its place alongside the SEC as a leading regulator in the financial markets.   Credit for this turnaround is largely due to the leadership of former Goldman Sachs partner, Commissioner Gary Gensler. 

Most notable, the CFTC will forever be remembered for its historic settlement with Barclays that was jointly negotiated with the U.K.'s FSA.  The CFTC and the FSA each took home record fines in a case that has rocked the world - Manipulation of the Libor Interest Rate by Barclays and allegedly many other global banks.

To continue reading, click source reference link in:  BEHIND THE NEWS, 10/8/12.

DLA Piper.

The law firm escaped the clutches of a $17mn malpractice suit filed by Joseph DelGreco & Company, a bankrupt NY-based luxury outdoor furniture distributor.  DLAPiper was accused of breaching its duties in 13 separate episodes.  However, Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York, who had presided over the law suit filed in 2010, dismissed the case saying there wasn't enough evidence to show DLA Piper had acted improperly. 

The lawsuit stemmed from services provided in 2007, in which the law firm advised DelGreco in a manufacturing and licensing agreement with Taiwanese furniture maker, Eastwest.  In the deal, Eastwest loaned DelGreco $1 million. But, between the time of the loan and July 2008, DelGreco failed to make at least 5 monthly interest payments and defaulted on several other agreed upon obligations with Eastwest.  Eastwest sued DelGreco.

To continue reading, click source reference link in:  WHO'S NEWS, 10/4/12.

Morgan Stanley. 

Everyone is always gunning for the the "Top Dog," or the "King of the Hill."  When it comes to having the largest sales force on Wall Street, that distinction goes to ....  Morgan Stanley.  The firm has 16,934 brokers in its Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (MSSB) unit.  Not far behind is Merrill Lynch, whose 'charging bulls' number 16,151.  And Merrill has instituted a full court press - and acts like money's no object. 

Merrill is trying to take advantage of Morgan Stanley's recent issues - including its recovery from a rocky computer conversion and billions of dollars in losses out of Facebook's botched IPO.  Accordingly, Merrill is targeting top Morgan Stanley Wealth Management brokers who are considered ripe for defection.  Merrill's recruiting effort will be aided by the presence of high up regional managers, empowering select managers with hiring authority lists, and offering some top advisers large bonuses.  

Morgan Stanley got to its #1 position by deftly pushing forward its agreement to buy out Citigroup.  Don't believe for a moment that the firm will just let Merrill and other wire houses just sweep in and sweep off their feet top MS producers.  

After all, it's always better to be on top, looking down - even if #2 is breathing down your neck.  They still have to catch M. Stanley, then hold the advantage.  Meanwhile, CEO James Gorman, among other things, is reinforcing the firm's relationship with Temasek - the deep-pocketed government investment fund from Singapore.  

To continue reading, click source reference link in:  BEHIND THE NEWS, 10/9/12.
 

Tuesday, we'll wrap up with profiles of the losers.  Please visit,