Tis the season of giving. And Wall Street is doing its part in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
As the clean-up effort continues and rebuilding commences, Wall Street firms are looking to assist their Main Street neighbors in healing after the East Coast was battered by devastating weather.
Agency-only broker Bloomberg Tradebook kicked of the season of giving in early November, as Batman, Tiki Barber and other superheroes were part of the firm’s charity event, “Trick or Trade,” originally set to coincide with Halloween.
More than $500,000 in trading commissions were generated, which will benefit a diverse set of charities as well as Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in New York.
The event was postponed to Nov. 8, after Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast.
HOLY CHARITY COSTUME PARTY, BATMAN!
Click here to see the celebrities, traders and other stars of the inaugural “Trick or Trade” fund-raising event, including Tradebook chief executive Ray Tierney as the caped crusader.
“The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy continues to have a significant impact on families up and down the East Coast, including many of our clients, colleagues, family and friends. To help address these continued needs, Bloomberg Tradebook will be donating a portion of the money we are raising to hurricane relief efforts,” said Ray Tierney, president and chief executive officer at Bloomberg Tradebok.
“We are committed to doing all we can to help move forward, and through efforts like our Trick or Trade event, will continue to do whatever we can to contribute during this time of need.”
The storm cancelled Halloween celebrations along most of the Eastern seaboard. Moreover, it left millions without power for days, as well as created shortages of food, gas and other essentials. Many were left homeless as the storm destroyed homes along the water either directly or indirectly by fire caused by downed power lines or ruptured gas lines.
“One hundred percent of U.S. equity commissions generated, outside of our costs will go towards this philanthropic effort,” he added. The hope was to raise 1.5 to 2 times the broker’s daily U.S. equity commission.
Among the charities that received a portion of the day’s $500,000 in commissions were The Fresh Air Fund, the Joyful Heart Foundation, Ronald McDonald House New York and the The Actors Fund. Hurricane relief charities were yet to be determined, Tierney said.
Given this, a portion of the day’s commissions will be donated to hurricane relief efforts.
Other firms have joined the effort to help Main Street. Morgan Stanley has established a charitable giving effort to support people and communities impacted by Superstorm Sandy. The brokerage will match every dollar of its employees’ contributions to the American Red Cross’s relief operations up to the level of $2.5 million, and it will make a minimum contribution to the Red Cross of $1 million.
It also joined with the National Equity Fund Inc. and announced a $75 million expansion of their joint Rebuilding Local Economies Fund to support the development of replacement housing in communities affected by Sandy. The newly expanded fund, once fully invested, will have helped to develop 1,500 units of affordable housing and create thousands of construction and permanent jobs on the East Coast.
Goldman Sachs, located right in the flood zone in lower Manhattan, has pledged $10 million in relief funds consisting of a $5 million donation to clean up and recovery efforts and $5 million in loans to small businesses impacted the storm.
Aside from donating money, the bank’s employees and executives have also been pitching in with relief efforts. Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein spent time assisting in relief efforts in The Rockaways. Rank and file employees have also spent time in Staten Island and New Jersey helping package food for victims of the storm.
JP Morgan has pledged upwards of $5 million in charitable donations for relief and recovery efforts in affected areas, including: $2 million to the American Red Cross for emergency response; $1 million in matched funds for employee donations to the American Red Cross, WorldVision and the United Way, also for immediate relief efforts; $2 million in donations to local agencies for recovery efforts including counseling, temporary housing, cash assistance and access to social services.
It has also pledged $5 billion in incremental capital for lending to small and mid-size businesses directly affected by the storm to help them rebuild.
Deustche Bank, which also has offices in lower Manhattan on Wall Street has committed $1 million to enable its nonprofit partners, including AmeriCares and the Robin Hood Foundation, help meet the demand for emergency services and restoration efforts.
Broker-dealer Jefferies also donated trading commissions raised at its recent global trading day for Hurricane Sandy Relief. The broker donated all net trading commissions, which totaled $5 million, from U.S., European and Asia equity, fixed income, futures, foreign exchange and commodities trading to the relief effort.
In addition, Jefferies will itself donate $1 million.
The contributions will be allocated to The American Red Cross and other charities involved in providing aid and recovery.
