MST Financial chief executive Gerard Satur says the firm made an exception for star banking analyst Brian Johnson in allowing him to do paid consulting work for Commonwealth Bank, while defending its model in which some companies pay to be covered by the broker’s research.
Johnson’s disclosure that he had been paid by CBA, a company he covers, to advise its executives on investor sentiment and creating value for shareholders was met with surprise across Australia’s investment banking community, where research analysts typically face strict rules around outside work, personal shareholdings and accepting payments or benefits from companies they cover.
