An Open Letter to Barclays Capital

January 31, 2010 at 3:01 pm

To:

CorporateCommunicationsAmericas@barclayscapital.com, Corporate.Communications@barclayscapital.com

Ladies & Gentlemen:

I was distressed to read that your head of global investment banking, Hugh “Skip” McGee, recently called for the dismissal of Upper School Principal Michael Saltman, Headmaster Donald North and teacher, Leslie Lovett at his son’s school, the Kinkaid School in Texas, in response to Ms. Lovett referring to bankers as “sleazeballs.” Apparently, Mr. Saltman has tendered his resignation as a result of the incident.

Banker Gives Son’s Teacher a Bad Apple

Barclays Banker Hugh McGee Wants son’s teacher fired for sleazeball comment

I served as a managing director and member of the board of a Wall Street investment bank, as a mortgage and housing market regulator in the first Bush Administration and then founded and ran an investment bank in Washington. Throughout, I had ongoing dealings with numerous Wall Street firms, including Mr. McGee’s former employer, Lehman Brothers. (See:http://www.dunwalke.com)

In my opinion, the fundamental economics and politics of the banking business have evolved in a manner such that it is technically appropriate to refer to large financial institutions and the bankers that run them as “sleazeballs.” However, for overpaid bankers who use coercion to rid themselves of honest underpaid educators and, thus intimidate teachers everywhere, I can think of more appropriate names.

I would recommend that reinstatement of Mr. Saltman and an apology to the Kinkaid School is appropriate. So is some serious soul searching about transforming our financial system to one in which markets allocate capital to a real economy according to performance rather than intimidation and force.

Best Regards,

Catherine Austin Fitts

Press Office for Barclays Capital:

Americas

Tel: +1 212 412 7545

CorporateCommunicationsAmericas@barclayscapital.com

Asia Pacific

Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2903 2305

APcorporate.communications@barclayscapital.com

Singapore

Tel: +65 6308 3490

APcorporate.communications@barclayscapital.com

Japan

Tel: +81 3 4530 5623

APcorporate.communications@barclayscapital.com

Europe, Middle East and Africa

Tel: +44 (0)20 777 34171

Corporate.Communications@barclayscapital.com

Mapping The Real Deal is a column on Scoop supervised by Catherine Austin Fitts. Ms Fitts is the President of Solari, Inc. http://www.solari.com/. Ms. Fitts is the former Assistant Secretary of Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner during the first Bush Administration, a former managing director and member of the board of directors of Dillon Read “ Co. Inc. and President of The Hamilton Securities Group, Inc.

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