Wall Street's Big Banks Feel Brain Drain

Change is coming to Wall Street -- especially as big banks lose their top talent to dozens of smaller, private institutions, according to The New York Times

That may not be a bad thing, economists say.

As the government imposes more regulations on banks that have received taxpayer dollars, and lavish bonuses at public companies has been vilified, the Times found that hundreds of bankers have decided to abandon ship for companies with more room to negotiate compensation packages.

"If the risk-spreading spreads to these smaller institutions, it is no longer a systemic threat," New York University Finance Professor Matthew Richardson told The Times.

Of course, the brain drain from storied firms like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup has not all fled to boutique investment houses with names like Aladdin Capital, Moelis & Company, Broadpoint, Pinetum Capital and others. 

Some workers are joining foreign firms Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and others -- and decamping with valuable tax dollars.

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