Social Mood and News Stories: Banker Suicides Hit China

One of the hot topics of late is banker/financial professional deaths. Many are normal suicides, some suspicious (such as using a nail gun and shooting oneself in the torso multiple times), and some murders.

The lastest murder: BNP Banker, His Wife And Nephew Murdered In Belgium
One of the suicides: Another Trader Commits Suicide, Brings Total Recent Banker Deaths To 10

ZeroHedge keeps a running total that is now in the low teens.

This narrative grabs attention because of negative social mood. First, people are angry at bankers and Wall Street. Second, negative news is more popular. Several suicides during a bubble are ignored, during the bust they are headline news. Third, negative interpretations of events are popular during negative social mood. Are these men criminals? Are their banks about to fail?

This article from Fortune tries to put the deaths in perspective: Is there a suicide contagion on Wall Street?

But with each new wave of suicides come questions about whether the deaths signify a disturbing trend: Is finance a potentially deadly occupation? That is, do bankers kill themselves more often than other people?

To find out, Fortune asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to pull the latest suicide statistics from its National Occupational Mortality Surveillance database. During 1999, 2003, 2004, and 2007—the most recent years during which research was funded and for which data is available—there were 329 suicides among financial specialists, more than in any other occupation tracked by the CDC except for the broad grouping of "engineers and scientists," a cohort that lost 502 to suicide.

Finance, however, is a vast profession, and while the total number of finance professionals who commit suicide may be larger than for some other professions, they are actually less likely to do so than, say, lawyers or firefighters.

Take J.P. Morgan as an example: At a bank with more than 260,000 employees around the globe, a pair of suicides may seem shocking and random but the figure is, in fact, well within the range of statistical probability. Two might even be a low number. "You would expect that when people work these long hours," says Alexandra Michel, a former Goldman Sachs (GS) investment banker turned management professor at the University of Pennsylvania who for 12 years has been tracking the performance and health of a group of Wall Street recruits at two banks (she can't say which) in an ongoing study. "You would think that it would happen much more often."

Putting aside whether there is or is not a outbreak of suicide and now murder, clearly social mood is affecting the way the news is reported. And this has reached China with the rumored suicide of a trust .

原泰达系掌门人刘惠文意外离世 北方信托董事长一职悬空

Liu Huiwen was the chairman of the board for Northern International Trust in Tianjin, part of the Tianjin TEDA group.

as TEDA Department had quite a long period of time all-powerful head of the fate of the story of Liu Hui Wen had said so many people shocked.

According to reliable sources, it really has died at home on April 19, aged 60 years, generally referred to as market rumors of suicide, but this claim has not been confirmed by the relevant aspects.

Although Liu Hui Wen's position was chairman of Northern Trust, but its most "dazzling" career is still brilliant either TEDA Group Chairman period of "record." During his tenure, according to his famous "big capital cycle" theory of operation, the Department completed the overall framework of TEDA design and construction, and formed its own profit model and business systems.

However, in May 2011, Liu Hui Wen from TEDA Holdings chairman, party secretary and TEDA share a few posts on the outgoing chairman, former Tianjin Central Electronic Information Group Co., Ltd. Deputy General Manager Zhang Bing Jun took TEDA Holdings chairman, former Tianjin Tanggu Eight of the Communist Youth League secretary Zhang took over as chairman of TEDA shares.

TEDA department in other companies, Liu Hui Wen also gradually fade out, Bohai Property Insurance after 2011 as chairman for two years, also resigned in 2013.

Now in the heart of the TEDA system, retaining only the post of chairman of Northern Trust so far, this change is also considered to be signs of gradual "marginalized" Liu Hui Wen in TEDA. Immediately after the accident, the post of chairman of Northern Trust also had to be left open, only to wait for TEDA major shareholders come forward to appoint a new candidate.

Liu Hui Wen began in 1996 as general manager of Tianjin TEDA Group Co., Ltd., since 2001 as Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co., Ltd. Party Secretary, Chairman, and served a number of key positions in the company's platform, began full control of TEDA. Previously, he also served as deputy general manager of Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone Corporation, Tianjin Planning Committee General Office of cadres and other staff.

When Liu Hui Wen took over, the actual face is extremely optimistic about the situation, TEDA Group, formerly known as Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone Industrial Investment Corporation and Export Corporation, the two companies wound up a huge debt owed to the bank's five million. In order to overcome adversity, Liu Hui Wen debt to the bank guarantee, scored 250 million loans. Since he began the first step in reshaping TEDA plans - will push TEDA capital markets.

August 12, 1997 by the Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin Melone all the shares of state-owned shares free classified TEDA Group management, September 24 that year changed its name to TEDA share.

This is critical for the reorganization of the Department of TEDA is done by Liu Hui Wen surgeon, thus TEDA system for the first time include listed companies, the future is also considered one of the most valuable listing platform Department of TEDA, TEDA many quality system Financial assets are loaded into them.

And we all know, TEDA Department license to build the whole financial platform "Holding" dream always strong, and this is always pushing Liu Hui Wen's business strategy.

It is understood that, in order to establish a financial holding group, Liu Hui Wen has on several occasions sent to CITIC Group study.

After years of operation, the current system already holds TEDA Bohai Bank, a number of financial institutions in the Bohai equity securities, Northern Trust, Tianjin Trust, Heng An Standard Life, Bohai Property Insurance, Guotai Junan, Tianjin Bank.

Among them, the TEDA Department holds nearly 80% stake in Bohai Securities, as the absolute control; holds a 25% stake in Bohai Bank, the largest shareholder sit tight.

Currently serving chairman Liu Hui Wen Northern Trust since December 2005 is the holding company TEDA Holdings stake to 32.33 percent, the Department of Finance also TEDA vital part of the territory.

With Northern Trust, TEDA system also shares more financial institutions, including the Great Wall Fund, Manulife TEDA Fund.

TEDA is currently covered by the Department of Regional Development and various segments of real estate, utilities, manufacturing, finance and modern service industries. Has 15 wholly-owned companies, 23 holding companies and 23 joint stock companies, the shares of which TEDA, Tianjin Binhai Development , Coastal Energy , TEDA and Binhai Investment, tetracycline, medicine and other six listed companies.