Gary Stevenson, in his book "The Trading Game," claims to have been Citibank's most profitable trader globally in 2011, making a peak profit of $35 million for the bank. However, several former Citi employees, including senior managers in the FX business, dispute this claim. Jeff Feig, former global head of foreign exchange at Citi, called Stevenson's claim "laughable and clearly just an outlandish fib," stating that a $35 million profit was not exceptional for that era and that others made hundreds of millions over the year.
Former colleagues indicated that Stevenson's profit was not even in the top 10 of Citi's FX division at any point, let alone the entire bank. They highlighted that his risk limits were insufficient for such high profitability and estimated that investment-grade credit traders in New York averaged $30 million to $40 million in PnL at the time. One former boss recalled that Stevenson was at no point the highest PnL earner among the 20 to 25 traders in Citi's global STIRT team.
Stevenson primarily attributes his 2011 success to an outsized bet on interest rates remaining low, while colleagues suggest a significant portion of his earnings likely came from market making in the short-end euro book, a "franchise" with consistent client flow. Feig acknowledged that Stevenson could have made money through proprietary bets, as STIRT traders often made such bets using the "cushion" from market-making flow.
Former employees also questioned how Stevenson could even know his ranking in terms of profitability across the entire bank, with Feig stating there was a "zero per cent probability" he could access such data. Citi declined to comment on Stevenson's claims. Despite the widespread disbelief from his former colleagues, Stevenson maintains his statements, responding to queries with, "I stand by what I’ve said in the book, I have nothing further to add."
