Mayo-Naised

Mayo is known for his often-unbridled pessimism toward the banking sector, and his unkindness toward banks is said to have hurt CSFB's lush bank M&A advisory business.

Tom Brown, who had been fired as Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette's chief banking analyst, lays the blame for his own dismissal on Richard Barrett, the investment banking honcho who specializes in financial services M&A. And now Brown's accusing Barrett for Mayo's departure from Credit Suisse First Boston. As a result of CSFB's acquisition of DLJ, Barrett will move to Credit Suisse.

Barrett, in an interview, said he had nothing to do with Mayo's departure, and described Brown's charges as "silly." Barrett says that he doesn't know why "Tom Brown has a vendetta against me. I had nothing to do with his departure from DLJ."

Regarding Mayo, Barrett says Susan Roth, who is with DLJ, is the better banking analyst, and that is why she got the job. Accusations that "I would have left" if Mayo stayed are "total baloney," Barrett says.

But others, notably the Economist magazine, assert that Barrett has a long history of getting rid of uncooperative analysts. In addition to claims that he was responsible for Brown's and Mayo's departures, some say Barrett was behind the dismissal of Charles Peabody from UBS Warburg, where Barrett worked before joining DLJ. Peabody also had a reputation for saying exactly what he believed.

What does Mayo say about why he was dismissed? The analyst's answer: "The exact reason is difficult to say right now, but the bottom line is I was fired."

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