Wells Fargo backlash — Refinitiv CEO embraces flexible work — Hotel lenders look to dump loans

Yesterday I wrote about a Reuters report published on Tuesday about comments Wells Fargo's CEO had made over the summer about hiring minority candidates and the "very limited pool of black talent to recruit from."

Charlie Scharf, the bank's chief executive, issued a company-wide memo on Wednesday apologizing for those comments, but the damage was already done for many. Scharf and the bank have received backlash from seemingly every corner of the internet, including tweets from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

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Refinitiv's CEO: Flexible working is here to stay

I got the chance to sit down — virtually, that is — with Refinitiv CEO David Craig to discuss the data giant's plans for returning to the office.

Back in March, Refinitiv's chief revenue officer, Debra Walton, had told me changes the company put in place as a result of the coronavirus could be in place for the long haul.

Six months later, Refinitiv's chief executive confirmed as much, telling me the company will always maintain flexible working options going forward, regardless of what happens with the virus.

Craig's perspective on remote work, and its impact on Refinitiv's business is worth a read.

Click here to read the full story.

Hotel lenders are racing to dump risky loans as the hospitality industry nears a breaking point, with defaults stacking up and high-profile properties starting to shutter

Hotels have had a tough go of it this year. Daniel Geiger has some insight into the firms that lent hotels money, and what they are doing to try and get those loans off their books. Read the whole story here.

Here's the 10-slide pitch deck that payments startup dLocal used to go from bootstrapping to nabbing $200 million from General Atlantic at a $1.2 billion valuation

Pitch-deck alert! Here's an interesting one from Shannen Balogh. This deck looks at dLocal, a payments fintech that was bootstrapped until this most recent round: A $200 million raise from General Atlantic that valued the startup at $1.2 billion. Check out the whole 10-page deck here.

A compliance startup that helps early-stage companies close deals with incumbents just raised a $10 million Series A from Canapi Ventures, Bain Capital, and NYCA

Shannen Balogh has the details on a fundraising round for Laika, a compliance-as-a-service startup. Laika solves a common yet complex issue for early-stage companies: Navigating the due diligence process of bigger companies they are selling into. Read the whole story here.

Odd lots:

A woman who worked at an investment bank that advised on electric-truck company Hyliion's SPAC deal says she was fired after complaining about sexual misconduct (BI)

The Cradle of Global Bagel Baking? (It's Not New York) (NYT)

We built the first-ever searchable database of the top Wall Street recruiters for banking, hedge funds, and private equity (BI)

These 2 Big Law firms have just launched new teams focused on data privacy. Here's how they're helping companies navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. (BI)

Bankers fear missing out and yearn to get back on the road (FT)

Goldman, Citi, HSBC Halt U.K. Office Return on Johnson Plea (Bloomberg)

Nikola's Talks With Major Energy Firms Stalled Following Short-Seller Report (WSJ)

'Now we're on the hook': PwC's inclusion chief lays out why the Big 4 firm revealed its diversity stats in 'uncomfortable' detail and how other companies should follow suit (BI)

Wall Street is getting back to work. Here are the latest return-to-office plans for 6 firms, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citi. (BI)