Dr Samuel Johnson once said “the noblest prospect which a
Scotchman ever sees is the high road that leads him to England!”
In this respect William Hopper considers himself to be a typical
Scot. After graduating in modern languages from Glasgow
University in 1953, Dr Johnson’s high road took Hopper through
two years in the Royal Air Force and three years on Wall Street
to London, where he has lived ever since. Hopper spent most of
his career in the City of London, working for the merchant banks
SG Warburg, Hill Samuel, and Morgan Grenfell. In his Viewpoint
article, Hopper stresses that there is a big difference between
merchant banking as practiced in the City of London before “Big
Bang,” when markets were deregulated in 1986, and the investment
banking practiced there since. Whereas a merchant banker is
someone who works for his customers, an investment banker is
someone who works for himself, argues Hopper. He left banking to
become a Conservative MEP, serving for Greater Manchester West
in 1979–84. With his