Venetia Thompson

The party’s over: welcome to the City’s new puritanism

Venetia Thompson, a former broker, says that the financial sector is adjusting painfully to the new puritanism: no more champagne, opera freebies and heli-skiing trips. But, with government at the helm, we may soon come to miss the days when greed was still good

issue 14 February 2009
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‘Well, I’ve got the lads an espresso machine — after all, none of us can afford coke anymore, how else are we going to stay awake?’ It was nice to hear that one City banker was putting his hand in his pocket and looking after his troops — they may not be getting bonuses, but at least his team were guaranteed a decent coffee.

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