Here’s another link on Daniel Scotto, the analyst fired by Paribas for accurately predicting Enron’s collapse Conflict for Dain analyst? (1/30/2002)
And Daniel Scotto, a bond analyst for BNP Paribas, told the Wall Street Journal that he was forced out because he told clients in August that Enron securities “should be sold at all costs and be sold now.” The company said Scotto’s departure was unrelated to his research.
Now contrast Scotto with Mark Easterbrook of Dain:
He not only termed Enron a buying opportunity on Oct. 23 — a day after the SEC request became public knowledge — he also was among the last analysts to downgrade Enron’s stock, issuing an “underperform” on Nov. 29 with the stock trading at 61 cents.
The possibility that Easterbrook may have been less than objective in his assessment of Enron’s stock is easy to understand.
Dain, of course, was one of Enron’s underwriters. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the scandal at Enron isn’t so much about politics or accounting as it is about conflicts of interest on the part of brokerage houses.