What were the realities on the ground at DB Houston? What really happened in those final dim hours? This is a story you won't read in the media.
From the junior side, one would have no clue of the distress and imminent doom the group was in. Many of the junior bankers simply chose to live large till the music stopped. An outrageous lifestyle of bottle service, black cars, and excess was the norm for these guys. A group that prided itself on a "macho" culture, they took great pride in "sending it". Legend is that when the news broke, they were still going out and blowing their remaining bonuses.
For the senior bankers, a much darker culture existed. With the writing clearly on the wall, desperate ideas to generate business were routinely sent off, even if only to fall on deaf ears. VPs regularly promoted to MD to give the juniors a sense of leadership, ridiculous pitches, and a culture of madness plagued DB for those last few months.In a desperate jester, one MD (whose name I will not mention to keep protected) began cold calling O&G companies from an old yellow book, begging to provide financing.
Legend has it, that as the office was being cleared out, a note was found on one of the old MDs desk that read "better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all"
RIP to the greatest that ever was and will be
-DB Houston, Incoming Analyst
