HedgeFundsX

By Matt Levine

While prominent hedge-fund manager David Einhorn was the focus of the latest alleged insider-trading case this week, a supporting actor in the drama belongs to a fraternity of London bankers that also is under increased scrutiny.

Andrew Osborne, until last month a so-called corporate broker in the sprawling London outpost of Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch investment-banking unit, is alleged to have passed sensitive information to Mr. Einhorn, according to people familiar with the matter.

The U.K.’s Financial Services Authority is planning to fine Mr. Osborne £350,000 pounds ($549,674) for his role in the matter, said these people on Thursday.

This is not to be confused with the other other fines in the Greenlight case, which include Greenlight’s poor London trader being fined because he should have known that his boss should have known that he was breaking the law, or something. This is the guy who told Einhorn, on a non-wall-crossed call with him and Punch Taverns management, that Punch was going to raise £350mm, which Einhorn may or may not have laughed off as fee-seeking banker bluster. It comes from this Wall Street Journal article about “corporate brokers” – basically, as far as I can tell, ECM banker types who, um, do a lot of calling of investors and saying “how would you feel about a £350mm capital raise at Punch, hypothetically of course?” – And about how the UK is cracking down on insider trading. Just like the US is. Sort of:

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