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We design performance measures to cover-up error. They are called benchmarks. We make decisions based on: Will we be found out? Discovered? Identified as the wrongdoer? Do we really want to have to explain this stuff to someone who spent his or her life in sales or marketing?

— Eugene Rotberg Informal remarks on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Eurobond market (2013)

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More quotes by Eugene Rotberg

Never penalize those who work for us for mistakes or reward them for being right about markets. It will go to their heads, is counterproductive and, in any event, material compensation will not correlate with their ability to predict the future next time.

Ignore accounting conventions. They are not useful risk management tools; they are designed to make our lives easier and comfortable.

Ask ‘what if?’ Quantify ‘what if?’ . . .

“A 40-Year Retrospective.” In Grumpy Old Bankers: Wisdom from Crises Past (pp. 80-83). Tonbridge, Kent: Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation."

Try to understand why a transaction makes sense to your counterparty. . . .

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Eugene Rotberg (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.