Banks analyst Brad Hintz to retire

Charles "Brad" Hintz, the veteran US banking analyst, is set to retire from Wall Street this year and take up a teaching post at New York University.

The 64-year-old is due to leave Sandford Bernstein to become adjunct professor of finance at the university's Stern School of Business after more than a decade covering the big financial institutions.

Mr Hintz became one of the most influential analysts in the financial services sector after a long career in banking. He held top positions at Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley before joining Sandford Bernstein in 2000.

He was a vocal critic of some of the practices on Wall Street during his time at the brokerage. He once referred to failed investment bank Lehman Brothers' use of Repo 105, a controversial accounting practice the firm began using after he left, as "shenanigans ".

Institutional Investor magazine repeatedly named him the top analyst in his sector.

But he also fell foul of the regulators himself. In 2006, the National Association of Securities Dealers, now part of Finra, the industry self-regulatory body, fined Mr Hintz $200,000 and Sandford Bernstein $350,000 for violations of its research analyst conflict of interest rules.

The watchdog said Mr Hintz had breached its rules by selling holdings he had in Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers contrary to his positive stock recommendations.

Mr Hintz was open about his holdings and his intention to sell his shares in the firms while maintaining upbeat views on both banks.

As part of the settlement, Sandford Bernstein and Mr Hintz neither admitted nor denied the charges.

Last month, he issued out a rare downgrade on Goldman Sachs, predicting its sales and trading businesses would be hit by global regulatory changes.

Sandford Bernstein and Mr Hintz could not immediately be reached for comment. According to the Stern website, he will be teaching a course on managing financial businesses.

"I have enjoyed my years in equity research and the opportunity it has given me to offer public commentary on the dynamics of Wall Street," Mr Hintz told Bloomberg. "I have been elated by my successes and humbled by my market mistakes."

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