When you work at Merrill Lynch "you wake up, shower, and plan to win." So says Mr Ahmass Fakahany, one of Wall Street's most powerful men and the second most senior executive at the global banking giant.
He is in Dublin for just three days and plans to use his time well. Egyptian-born, Mr Fakahany loves coming to Ireland. Usually he visits two or three time a year, with his Dublin-born wife, Alsún Keogh, and their three young children. This trip, though, is purely business - well, almost. He has scheduled some time to have tea with his in-laws.
Mr Fakahany jokes that he has the "Merrill Lynch mafia" in toe with him. His entourage includes the head of Merrill's European operations and senior executives from its businesses in the Middle East and international institutional division.
During their brief stay they met with Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, Tánaiste, Ms Harney (Mr Fakahany pronounces their titles perfectly) and other senior politicians and hosted a dinner for their Irish clients.
"Normally the European head would lead such a delegation but we are a global firm," explains 45-year-old Mr Fakahany. "We will have to visit more regularly to make sure that people feel part of the group. We plan to come here again and to maintain relationships".
He is part of the new young guard Merrill's chief executive officer, Stan O'Neal, surrounded himself with two years ago. His job is a plum one coming with a salary and bonus of more than $10 million (€8.1 million) and stock options worth up to $5 million. He says taking such a job on Wall Street is a daunting prospect these days.
Scandals such as Enron have forced US regulators to get tough on white-collar crime. Highly publicised "perp walks", where prominent city figures are marched from the Street in handcuffs, provide a visible sign for the public that high standards will be enforced.
Regulators are forcing executives at major companies to bear greater responsibility for ensuring that investor's interests aren't compromised. Four former Merrill Lynch executives have been charged with conspiring with Enron's chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, and others to rig a controversial deal in December 1999. The deal would have made it appear that Merrill Lynch had bought an interest in some Nigerian barges owned by Enron that allowed the former energy giant to report a $12 million profit.
The firm has made a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has been amassing money from firms deemed to have had links with events that left investors out of pocket.
Merrill Lynch was specifically cited for its association with deals with Enron and $80 million has been set aside to compensate investors. Mr Fakahany says he can't comment on individuals who are no longer employees of the firm but says it has co-operated with all of the authorities.
Good corporate governance has become a cost of running a business and is a powerful thing in the right balance, he says. Such cases are a "stark reminder there is no room for error. Governance starts at the top with the chairman and CEO. There is no tolerance for any noise in that level."
He says people who are found to have breached governance codes and ethics will be removed from the firm. "You cannot afford to make mistakes." Over the past couple of years he has worked closely with Mr O'Neal to implement a massive overhaul of the group to restore it to robust financial health.
The rescue remedy involved radical surgery at the bank's investment banking and broking operations and 24,000 job losses that included some of its top executives. Profits have swelled and the firm is fighting fit.
Mr Fakahany says it is now focusing on expanding its international businesses on foot of a global review. A decision has been taken to employ top management talent to overseas operations to realise its ambitions.
"Our non-US business should play a much greater role going forward." In the past an international posting was often seen as a punishment, he has suggested.
Its Irish operations are coming under the spotlight as part of this fresh international focus. Bringing some of its highest-ranking executives to Dublin, according to Mr Fakahany, should signify Merrill Lynch's determination to raise its profile and to expand in Ireland.
"Merrill Lynch is here to stay," he says. The firm made a grand entrance in 1995 taking a floor in the luxurious Treasury building on Dublin's Grand Canal Street, sharing its facilities with the National Treasury Management Agency. It initially employed 60 people at its capital markets division that now has branches in Frankfurt and Milan and is Merrill Lynch's principal capital markets bank outside of the US.
A financial services operation has since gone into business at Leopardstown in Dublin. It provides back-office support to Merrill Lynch's various other businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Overall, Merrill Lynch now employs 500 staff in Ireland and expects this to rise to 700 within the next few years.
"We are increasing our commitment. We want to foster Merrill Lynch in this marketplace," he says. "We have grown almost tenfold since 1995 and expect to see growth in a measured way over the next few years. We will be hiring local talent and want to develop them".
Its growth plan includes expanding its fixed income business in Ireland and to further utilise the potential the financial services support services presents for other parts of the group. Mr Fakahany says Merrill Lynch has looked at many locations around the globe as potential sites for expansion and has been particularly impressed by the quality of its Irish workforce. "Their capability and quality is superb. "I met with them and walked on every single floor. Actually, it feels very buzzy."
Merrill will also be keeping an eye on any future privatisations in Ireland and will be chasing this lucrative business. The bank worked with AIB Capital Markets as advisers to the Government on the flotation of Eircom in 1999 and shared fees of more than 74 million. The American bank was the most bullish of all the advisers. It had recommended that the company be floated at €4.26 per share.
The Government opted for 3.90 per share that was midway between the Merrill Lynch price and the 3.73 per share recommended by AIB Capital Markets. It also advised Eircom on the subsequent break-up and sale of the company.
Mr Fakahany is aware that the collapse in Eircom's share price as the telco bubble burst has left many Irish investors nursing losses. The Government may also want to put some clear blue water between the future flotation of companies such as the ESB and Eircom to encourage people to invest in these companies when they come to the stock markets.
Mr Fakahany says talks with politicians and other influential figures that could put such business Merrill Lynch's way are the firm's way of "initiating a dialogue. We are getting a good understanding of the opportunities. We will be looking at privatisations that make sense. Privatisation is not the end goal."
Mr Fakahany's meteoric rise to Merrill Lynch's top tier is notable not only because of his age but also because much of his 17-year career was spent outside of the US. He met his wife in Tokyo while on a stint as chief financial officer. He thrives on living in the fast-moving financial services industry. "Financial institutions never sleep," he says. Life at Merrill Lynch is "high paced, agile and focused on excellence."
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