Reversal of fortunes

Shen Wei, one of the first 600 investment bankers authorised to sign off on initial public offerings on the mainland, said the licence that made him one of the "golden collared" had lost its magic.

The teacher's son studied 14 hours a day for a month in 2004 to qualify after the mainland's securities regulator mandated that two so-called baodai, or sponsor representatives, conduct due diligence and sign off on every IPO to curb fraud.

Demand for such bankers is now being eroded by a freeze on IPOs, a surge in people getting licensed and an easing of underwriting rules.

"The baodai are like frogs in a pot of hot water that's been on slow boil for nine years," said Shen, 41, who is executive director of Citigroup's joint venture in Shenzhen, overseeing a team of 20 bankers. "The days of excess pay are gone. Rationality has returned."

Nine years after winning the licence that proved to be a "crucial turning point" for Shen, the mainland's worst IPO market in seven years has hastened the end of fat payouts and fast-track careers for the country's more than 2,300 baodai.

Securities firms are cutting or ending allowances that were as much as three times salaries and firing licensed bankers who are not on deals, while the pool of qualified people expands.