, Columnist
The City of London Finally Tackles Its Drink Problem
Lloyd’s of London and the London Metal Exchange are bastions of sexism and boorishness. It’s great that they’ve banned alcohol, but it’s only a start.
This article is for subscribers only.
For most of the traders, bankers, lawyers and accountants who populate the City of London, the era of excessive daytime boozing is long gone. Pubs and pints have been replaced by coffee shops and lattes. Dealmaking hasn’t suffered for it.
There are, though, pockets of the world’s pre-eminent finance hub where business is carried out much as it was hundreds of years ago. In commodities trading and insurance underwriting – which rely still on shouting across the trading floor, actual rubber stamps, and leather-bound ledgers – heavy drinking remains part of the old rituals.