He was one of the most colourful characters to emerge from the financial boom and bust. Rich Ricci – a name so perfect for a wealthy, high-flying investment banker that you couldn’t make it up – even once described himself as the ‘maddest f****r on the planet’.
But, unlike many who fell from grace in the aftermath of the banking crisis and promptly disappeared, Ricci may still have a shot at re-establishing himself as a City kingpin.
The ebullient horse racing fanatic, whose stable has included Champagne Fever and the ironically named Fat Cat In The Hat, was a leading member of the colourful pack of bankers at the top of Barclays in the run-up to the financial crisis. His colleagues then included former chief executive Bob Diamond and rainmaker Roger Jenkins, both of whom became notorious figures in the world of finance.
‘Brash’: Ebullient horse racing fan Rich Ricci used to run Barclays’ investment banking arm
Memories of those hard-charging, high-octane years were stirred this weekend when Barclays was hit with a £50million fine over fees paid to Qatari investors in a capital-raising exercise during the crisis. The bank, which is challenging the penalty, was also accused by regulators of being ‘reckless’ and ‘lacking integrity’.
It is inconvenient timing for Ricci, just as he is attempting a City comeback.
Although he was not one of the four former Barclays bankers to face criminal charges over the Qatari affair, the fine is an unwelcome reminder of the controversies that engulfed his former employer.
A one-time star performer at Barclays, US-born Ricci ran its investment bank. He was a key lieutenant of Diamond, another charismatic American.
The pair reunited in 2017 when Diamond took over venerable City stockbroker Panmure Gordon. Ricci became chief executive three years later and, having returned Panmure to profit, is now eying a takeover of financial advisory firm FinnCap.
A deal would bring together one of the oldest stockbrokers in the Square Mile – Panmure Gordon was founded in 1876 – with one of the newest. FinnCap was established in 2007 and is the only City broker to have been run by a woman, Sam Smith.
The planned swoop has lifted some of the gloom enveloping the Square Mile as other deals dry up and job losses mount.
Talks are at an early stage. FinnCap founder Smith, who stepped down from running the business last month but holds a ten per cent stake in the firm, said last week that she had not yet been approached by Panmure.
Senior sources who have worked with Ricci say his interest in FinnCap shows he has huge ambitions for the firm.
‘I don’t think he’s doing it for ego,’ said one source. ‘The market has been pretty harsh on him and I think he wants to prove himself by doing good deals, and building Panmure into something great.’
It is not just Ricci who is seeking to reinvent himself at Panmure. The firm recently hired Stephen Jones, another former Barclays man, as its head of investment banking.
Jones stepped down from trade lobby group UK Finance after making disparaging and sexist remarks about financier Amanda Staveley, a co-owner of Newcastle United.
Staveley lost a lawsuit against Barclays last year, claiming her firm missed out on fees because her Abu Dhabi client was offered a less advantageous deal than the Qataris in the controversial Middle Eastern rescue in 2008.
Jones apologised for his comments.
Key stake: Former FinnCap boss Sam Smith
With Diamond, Ricci was instrumental in buying bankrupt rival Lehman Brothers for a song at the height of the financial crisis in what was described as the ‘deal of the century’.
But when Diamond was forced to quit Barclays in 2012 after an interest rate rigging scandal, Ricci soon followed.
The former banker has a penchant for loud, windowpane checked suits and trilby hats, perhaps to disguise his thinning pate. Racegoers have been known to remark on his distinctive mullet, trailing under the brim of his titfer.
His pink and green polka-dot owner’s silks have often been seen in the winners’ enclosure at the Cheltenham Festival, and he and his wife, Susannah, reportedly used to take their private jet to Ireland every weekend to watch their horses.
A senior City source added: ‘Rich does have this brash American style. But he’s actually a very shrewd man. People at Barclays loved working for him. And everyone at Panmure Gordon loves working for him. They have built a culture that’s quite enviable.’
Behind the ebullient exterior, however, he is said to be ‘pretty shy when it comes to his own life’.
‘It’s only in the racing papers where he wants to be on the front page,’ said another source.
Supporters say Ricci is unfairly tarnished by his association with Diamond. ‘If you talk to anyone, including the regulators, Rich doesn’t come up in a negative light. Diamond does, but because of their working relationship, the two are connected and tend to be tarred with the same brush.’
‘He may well have a chip on his shoulder, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing in business. A chip on your shoulder means you have something to prove.’
