MTN Leak

When is a potato a massive barrel of cheese? When a Frenchman gets near it. Yannick Lakoue-Derant of SG has just returned from a skiing weekend in Switzerland, claiming that he will not eat any more cheese for the rest of the year having overindulged in "rösti". After several hours’ furious research into culinary traditions of the world, Leak was left confused. For the internet says that said food is "a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes".

R&R was on the agenda last weekend, with MTNers missing the glorious sunshine to nurse hangovers and catch up on much needed sleep.

Despite the green shoots of spring growing in the sun, a colour more associated with winter was the talk of the MTN crowd this week.

The MTN world is inhabited by connoisseurs who only enjoy the finest things in life and none more so than Yannick Lakoue-Derant and Ben Terreaux at Société Générale.

The holiday may have been pencilled in months ago, but we know the real reason HSBC’s Chris Jones hit the French slopes this week.

When children in the US go missing their photos are put on the side of milk cartons. At Leak, we like to think we can offer a similar service — for bankers, of course.

With Lent beginning it is a good time to reflect on the tumultuous year that Leak has borne witness to, by presenting a belated 2011 Awards for Leak mentions.

Leak struggled to find romance in the air this week, even with Valentine’s Day.

Forget knighthoods, bonuses and Greek defaults — the biggest news in banking this week is that Filippo Ginanni has finally built his wine cellar.

A night out with Citi’s MTN desk took Leak’s mind off the freezing temperatures this week. We were delighted to clink glasses with Amaury Gossé, Nick Baber and Charles Antoine Roche but sad not to share a drink with George Nijborg. We’re convinced he skipped off home to perfect his DCM-menacing glare. An early version of this can be seen on his Citi ID card which, we are told, is so intimidating that the merest flash of it forces the Citi security barriers to fly open, dispensing the need for magnetic strips and such.

Who knew that enormous great big steaks could bring on a bout of nostalgia? An interesting fact, and one scientists (and advertisers) would do well to investigate.

The weather is miserable and the Eurozone crisis has returned, but that does not mean that there is no cause for celebration in the MTN markets.