Oscar Lewisohn was an old-fashioned banker who continued to uphold the best traditions of Anglo-Continental finance long after it had gone out of fashion, until the final setback caused by Britain's exit from the European Union.
Mr. Lewison, who died on March 18 at the age of 85, was a longtime supporter of OMFIF, an attendee at the organization's first meeting at the Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt in March 2010, and a member of the advisory board. He was also a member of. “Oscar Lewisohn has been a loyal friend and supporter of OMFIF,” said Meghnad Desai, who has chaired OMFIF's advisory board since its inception in 2010. “We relied on his wisdom and advice in our deliberations.” We will miss his generous support. ”
Having immigrated to London from his native Denmark in 1962, and through a long association with the quintessential banking firm SG Warburg & Company, Lewisohn established a link between his second home in Britain and the financial and cultural capital of continental Europe. embodying many constructive connections. He was fluent in his five European languages.
His multifaceted personality was in some ways a hybrid of those of his two main mentors, Sigmund Warburg and Henry Grunfeld, co-architects of SG Warburg. A refugee from Nazi Germany who arrived in London by separate routes in 1934, he established what became Britain's largest merchant banking and corporate finance business after World War II.
The Founding Fathers were extraordinarily methodical and fiscally conservative, making “speculative” transactions (unparalleled loans) in the same spirit of zeal that raised eyebrows at the wayward punctuation of the document that bore SG Warburg's name. (including) were avoided. Mr. Lewison followed in their footsteps. “He was a wonderful man of great integrity and had the deep respect, loyalty and love of those who worked with him,” said David Scholey, the company's last chairman.
A brilliant career was followed by difficult early years
Lewison combined the characteristics of his Danish background with those of having lived in the UK for more than 60 years. He remained deeply loyal to his family and friends in Denmark and often spoke of his childhood, which was interrupted by flights to Sweden with his parents. Lewisohn's family, along with many other Danish nationals of Jewish descent, stayed there from 1943 until the end of the war to escape persecution and possibly murder by the German occupation forces.
After training in commerce and banking in Denmark, the UK and the US, Mr Louison's rise to success began in 1962, an eventful year. Mr. Lewison met his first wife, Grunfeld's daughter Louisa, on a cruise to Israel. Within the year he married and moved to London, where he joined Warburg's foreign exchange department.
He rose through the ranks over the next three decades to become vice chairman of perhaps London's most demanding financial institution. He is known for his meticulous standards of accountability, his deep-rooted advice to many of Britain's largest companies, his key role in the development of the Eurobond market, and his meticulous preparation for the 1986 Big Bang reforms that transformed London. The company focused on its core characteristics: combining Stock exchanges and the broader sector of financial markets.
Mr. Louison (second from left), 2022
Lewisohn's Grunfeldian qualities were unmistakable: meticulous attention to detail, disciplined planning, and meticulous attention to confidentiality. Complementing these traits was a passion for politics, such as that shown by Sigmund Warburg, an area Grunfeld was willing to leave to an open-minded partner. Lewisohn developed a close bond with Eric Rohr. Eric Rohr is an erudite central European-born scholar and civil servant who played an important role in post-war relations between Britain and the United States and continental Europe before joining SG Warburg, where he contributed to the promotion of international expansion in the finals. did. His career spans 20 years.
Mr Lewison played a key role in ensuring SG Warburg's prominence in London's financial markets towards the end of the 20th century. In an interview with Euromoney in 2019, he said: “There is no doubt that Mr Warburg predicted the importance of the Big Bang in the UK ahead of other companies.” The investment in Ackroyd & Smithers and the acquisition of Rowe & Pittman allowed it to establish an efficient trading and distribution business well before the Big Bang. ”
Nearing the end of his banking career, Mr. Lewisohn was saddened to see the high standards of banking he had espoused so far being undermined so broadly. The company's own partially self-inflicted bankruptcy was particularly traumatic. Following Mr. Warburg's death in 1982 and Mr. Grunfeld's retreat, the bank set aside its founding principles.
The company announced a forced merger with Morgan Stanley due to overly ambitious U.S. expansion and bond trading losses caused by the sharp rise in U.S. interest rates in 1993-1994, but negotiations broke down. In 1995, the Swiss Bank Corporation acquired SG Warburg at a price well below its previous valuation and created SBC Warburg. SBC Warburg went through a series of further mergers and rebrands, and the Warburg name was finally discontinued in 2002.
Passion for Europe and art
Lewison came to embody some of the best qualities of his adopted homeland in his charm, sociability, and enjoyment of discussion. But he was discouraged by the increasingly negative trend in Britain's relationship with the continent following the 2016 referendum that led to its exit from the European Union. He understood Britain's reservations about “federalist” ambitions in EU integration. He considered “confederation” to be the preferable model.
As he said in a 2018 interview, “You can't blame a lot of good British people saying, 'You know, maybe too much has happened.'” [Brussels]”.” But he was deeply sensitive to the uglier aspects of Brexit. 'The world has changed. London was once one of the most important international welcoming places, but the anti-immigration momentum caused by Brexit is weighing heavily on people. ”
Mr. Lewison's interests ranged far beyond politics, economics, and banking. They also extended to music and other artistic fields, and after Louisa's death in 1985, his home became the setting for spectacular concerts under the expert supervision of his wife Margaret, whom he married in 1987. . The concert, located in his family home in south-west London, was founded in 2000 and has now performed over 50 orchestral and chamber music concerts.
His interests and generosity extended to teaching, supporting Danish students studying at Cambridge, and medicine (for example, the Cancer Research Fund). His involvement included better cross-cultural relations. He sponsored efforts to build bridges between Denmark's Jewish and Muslim communities. Oscar Louison left behind a wide and rich legacy.
David Marsh is OMFIF's Chairman. Niels Thygesen is Professor Emeritus of International Economics at the University of Copenhagen and a member of the OMFIF Advisory Board.
