Craig Coben
@thekrazykobra.bsky.social
Retired investment banker. Fulham FC fan. 2 Legit 2 Quit. “Allergic to the counterfeit, impartial to the politics”
https://www.ft.com/craig-coben
https://www.globalcapital.com/author/craig-coben
https://www.ft.com/craig-coben
https://www.globalcapital.com/author/craig-coben
My take on the largest London IPO since 2021 — the flotation of Princes Group. Free to read at @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/4141...
November 3, 2025 at 4:03 PM
My take on the largest London IPO since 2021 — the flotation of Princes Group. Free to read at @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/4141...
Saylor’s Strategy (née MicroStrategy) is hailing a “historic” credit rating from S&P.
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
October 31, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Saylor’s Strategy (née MicroStrategy) is hailing a “historic” credit rating from S&P.
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
Article I published today in @financialtimes.com on reunion I attended last month for my old investment bank. www.ft.com/content/5504...
October 20, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Article I published today in @financialtimes.com on reunion I attended last month for my old investment bank. www.ft.com/content/5504...
I’m mentioned briefly in this Daily Telegraph article on my brother Harlan!
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
October 19, 2025 at 12:23 AM
I’m mentioned briefly in this Daily Telegraph article on my brother Harlan!
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
The S&P 500 just left Strategy (fka MicroStrategy) outside the index after most recent rebalancing. My latest for the @financialtimes.com on why it wasn't invited: it acts like a bitcoin fund, not an operating company. The rejection is a blow to its business model. www.ft.com/content/57c4...
September 12, 2025 at 6:01 AM
The S&P 500 just left Strategy (fka MicroStrategy) outside the index after most recent rebalancing. My latest for the @financialtimes.com on why it wasn't invited: it acts like a bitcoin fund, not an operating company. The rejection is a blow to its business model. www.ft.com/content/57c4...
In this “On Wall Street” column in @financialtimes.com, I look at Citigroup’s bid to “get the band back together” under Viswas Raghavan — and why star hires alone rarely change an investment bank’s trajectory. www.ft.com/content/0719...
August 22, 2025 at 6:19 PM
In this “On Wall Street” column in @financialtimes.com, I look at Citigroup’s bid to “get the band back together” under Viswas Raghavan — and why star hires alone rarely change an investment bank’s trajectory. www.ft.com/content/0719...
Figma’s IPO soared 250% — cue outrage. $3bn left on the table? A rigged game? Not so fast. In @alphaville.ft.com, I argue that the “broken” IPO process may just be the least-worst option. $FIG
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
August 4, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Figma’s IPO soared 250% — cue outrage. $3bn left on the table? A rigged game? Not so fast. In @alphaville.ft.com, I argue that the “broken” IPO process may just be the least-worst option. $FIG
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
Interviewed in Die Welt newspaper about financial markets, investment banking, and leadership. When I was asked who was my role model leader in Europe, I was unequivocal: Marco Silva, the Portuguese manager of Fulham FC www.welt.de/wirtschaft/p...
August 1, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Interviewed in Die Welt newspaper about financial markets, investment banking, and leadership. When I was asked who was my role model leader in Europe, I was unequivocal: Marco Silva, the Portuguese manager of Fulham FC www.welt.de/wirtschaft/p...
Many late-career pros return to university to seek intellectual nirvana and campus highs, only to find the transition much harder than expected. My “After the Bell” column in @financialtimes.com : www.ft.com/content/3762...
July 28, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Many late-career pros return to university to seek intellectual nirvana and campus highs, only to find the transition much harder than expected. My “After the Bell” column in @financialtimes.com : www.ft.com/content/3762...
Michael Saylor’s Strategy just raised $4.2bn via preferred shares — with the fine print allowing it to pay dividends on earlier preferreds. Not a recap, not a refinance. A structure built on momentum and market access. My latest in @alphaville.ft.com (free-to-read): www.ft.com/content/90ea...
July 10, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Michael Saylor’s Strategy just raised $4.2bn via preferred shares — with the fine print allowing it to pay dividends on earlier preferreds. Not a recap, not a refinance. A structure built on momentum and market access. My latest in @alphaville.ft.com (free-to-read): www.ft.com/content/90ea...
Shein’s Hong Kong IPO filing isn’t just about listing. It’s a pressure tactic on London: accept Beijing-approved Xinjiang risk factors language or lose the deal. My latest for @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/bb85...
July 9, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Shein’s Hong Kong IPO filing isn’t just about listing. It’s a pressure tactic on London: accept Beijing-approved Xinjiang risk factors language or lose the deal. My latest for @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/bb85...
Why do so many retired bankers end up back in the industry? It’s not always about money. My @financialtimes.com column looks at the “boomerang banker” – and what it reveals about banking’s hold on its practitioners www.ft.com/content/b240...
June 30, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Why do so many retired bankers end up back in the industry? It’s not always about money. My @financialtimes.com column looks at the “boomerang banker” – and what it reveals about banking’s hold on its practitioners www.ft.com/content/b240...
The European Commission is reportedly probing Italy’s €1.1bn sale last November of Monte dei Paschi di Siena shares. It was a successful privatisation but also - as I explain in @financialtimes.com today - an exercise in controlled execution and industrial policy www.ft.com/content/0593...
June 26, 2025 at 6:11 AM
The European Commission is reportedly probing Italy’s €1.1bn sale last November of Monte dei Paschi di Siena shares. It was a successful privatisation but also - as I explain in @financialtimes.com today - an exercise in controlled execution and industrial policy www.ft.com/content/0593...
Chamath Palihapitiya, the “SPAC King” whose deals burned billions of investor capital, says he wants to launch a new SPAC. His argument boils down to: SPACs > IPOs. But given his track record, should anyone listen? My take at @alphaville.ft.com www.ft.com/content/e859...
June 23, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Chamath Palihapitiya, the “SPAC King” whose deals burned billions of investor capital, says he wants to launch a new SPAC. His argument boils down to: SPACs > IPOs. But given his track record, should anyone listen? My take at @alphaville.ft.com www.ft.com/content/e859...
Goldman Sachs’s reported decision to return to the SPAC business shows Wall Street’s reputational risk math is fluid. When fees beckon & oversight fades, banks recalibrate fast. My latest for @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/d1ea...
June 19, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Goldman Sachs’s reported decision to return to the SPAC business shows Wall Street’s reputational risk math is fluid. When fees beckon & oversight fades, banks recalibrate fast. My latest for @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/d1ea...
New on @alphaville.ft.com : Strategy (né MicroStrategy) has mastered the art of turning stock into bitcoin. Another $21bn ATM shelf, 553,555 BTC, and a capital structure from another dimension. Genius or madness? My take: www.ft.com/content/d5ba...
May 2, 2025 at 6:04 AM
New on @alphaville.ft.com : Strategy (né MicroStrategy) has mastered the art of turning stock into bitcoin. Another $21bn ATM shelf, 553,555 BTC, and a capital structure from another dimension. Genius or madness? My take: www.ft.com/content/d5ba...
Citi’s ‘sun, sea, and spreadsheets’ experiment in Málaga is dead—and it was doomed from the start.
The bank pitched junior bankers a dream, but in investment banking, remote hubs like Málaga become a professional purgatory.
….
www.ft.com/content/5663...
The bank pitched junior bankers a dream, but in investment banking, remote hubs like Málaga become a professional purgatory.
….
www.ft.com/content/5663...
April 25, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Citi’s ‘sun, sea, and spreadsheets’ experiment in Málaga is dead—and it was doomed from the start.
The bank pitched junior bankers a dream, but in investment banking, remote hubs like Málaga become a professional purgatory.
….
www.ft.com/content/5663...
The bank pitched junior bankers a dream, but in investment banking, remote hubs like Málaga become a professional purgatory.
….
www.ft.com/content/5663...
Rough start for CoreWeave’s second day of trading. My post-mortem on the IPO from this morning, published in @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/5190...
March 31, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Rough start for CoreWeave’s second day of trading. My post-mortem on the IPO from this morning, published in @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/5190...
My comment in @alphaville.ft.com on the bizarrely-named Perpetual Strife Preferred Stock offering announced by bitcoin-bingeing (Micro)Strategy. It’s the wildest story in the capital markets and with a name like “Perpetual Strife,” it promises to get even wilder. www.ft.com/content/2098...
March 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
My comment in @alphaville.ft.com on the bizarrely-named Perpetual Strife Preferred Stock offering announced by bitcoin-bingeing (Micro)Strategy. It’s the wildest story in the capital markets and with a name like “Perpetual Strife,” it promises to get even wilder. www.ft.com/content/2098...
A few thoughts from me in Financial Times Alphaville on the Oval Office dispute between Trump/Vance and Zelenskyy. Many people were understandably shocked by what they saw, but investment bankers will have seen this kind of rhetorical dominance in action over the years.
www.ft.com/content/0805...
www.ft.com/content/0805...
March 4, 2025 at 9:08 AM
A few thoughts from me in Financial Times Alphaville on the Oval Office dispute between Trump/Vance and Zelenskyy. Many people were understandably shocked by what they saw, but investment bankers will have seen this kind of rhetorical dominance in action over the years.
www.ft.com/content/0805...
www.ft.com/content/0805...
Column I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com about the leaked audio of JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon’s employee “town hall”, in which he railed against remote work, lack of focus, and bureaucratic bloat.
www.ft.com/content/db2c...
www.ft.com/content/db2c...
February 22, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Column I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com about the leaked audio of JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon’s employee “town hall”, in which he railed against remote work, lack of focus, and bureaucratic bloat.
www.ft.com/content/db2c...
www.ft.com/content/db2c...
I’m happy with my wording, thanks
February 3, 2025 at 7:12 PM
I’m happy with my wording, thanks
I discuss in @alphaville.ft.com why MicroStrategy shares have been underperforming bitcoin after hitting all-time high, and I look at its new perpetual preferred stock issue.
Microstrategy is the wildest, wackiest story in the capital markets. www.ft.com/content/b783...
Microstrategy is the wildest, wackiest story in the capital markets. www.ft.com/content/b783...
February 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I discuss in @alphaville.ft.com why MicroStrategy shares have been underperforming bitcoin after hitting all-time high, and I look at its new perpetual preferred stock issue.
Microstrategy is the wildest, wackiest story in the capital markets. www.ft.com/content/b783...
Microstrategy is the wildest, wackiest story in the capital markets. www.ft.com/content/b783...
Quoted in @bloomberg.com about how identical investment banking comp numbers can translate to a very different payout depending on which bank you work for. Another example of American outperformance!
www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
January 31, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Quoted in @bloomberg.com about how identical investment banking comp numbers can translate to a very different payout depending on which bank you work for. Another example of American outperformance!
www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
Quoted on front page of Financial News about banker compensation.
George Clemenceau supposedly said: “The cemeteries are filled with irreplaceable people.” Or maybe it was De Gaulle.
Anyhow, you wouldn’t have wanted them deciding your comp if you were a banker!
George Clemenceau supposedly said: “The cemeteries are filled with irreplaceable people.” Or maybe it was De Gaulle.
Anyhow, you wouldn’t have wanted them deciding your comp if you were a banker!
January 27, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Quoted on front page of Financial News about banker compensation.
George Clemenceau supposedly said: “The cemeteries are filled with irreplaceable people.” Or maybe it was De Gaulle.
Anyhow, you wouldn’t have wanted them deciding your comp if you were a banker!
George Clemenceau supposedly said: “The cemeteries are filled with irreplaceable people.” Or maybe it was De Gaulle.
Anyhow, you wouldn’t have wanted them deciding your comp if you were a banker!