Morning Agenda: Jefferies, Small and Emboldened
ByThe investment bank Jefferies, which never took federal bailout money and is not hemmed in by the restrictions imposed on banks that did, has developed an appetite for risk. And it is matching its appetite with bold moves, bolstered by some helpful relationships.
Its interests in the field of financial technology have grown—it has repackaged loans from upstart lenders and is linked to Lending Club. Jefferies’s $37 billion in assets remain tiny next to giants like Goldman Sachs at $878 billion, but its share of Wall Street trading has doubled since 2006. It is also a subsidiary of, Leucadia National, which “can write a significant equity check at a moment’s notice,” said Chris Kotowski, an analyst at Oppenheimer. Read more about how the bank has used its room to maneuver here…
Morning Agenda: Jefferies, Small and Emboldened
