Ctrl+Z for capital markets

In college, I once Venmo'ed a friend $200 instead of $20 for an Uber ride–the result: pure panic...

Now, multiply that panic by 7 figures and that’s what Citibank felt a few years ago.

In 2020, Citibank accidentally wired $900M to Revlon's lenders (the full loan amount rather than just interest). Some lenders refused to return the cash, claiming it was an "accidental" prepayment—they decided to keep it.

Noetica's Q1 '25 Capital Markets Radar shows erroneous payment terms—which require the return of mistakenly sent funds—appear in a staggering 88% of deals. While most credit terms fluctuate wildly, these are practically universal.

Why? Because fat-finger errors aren't theoretical—they're inevitable. And when billions are at stake, market participants don’t want ambiguity. Meanwhile, liability management blockers barely crack 20% of deals—despite protecting against the same financial damage.

Credit markets are pretty clear on this: clever financial engineering? Interesting problem. Wrong decimal place on a wire transfer? Existential threat.

My friend sent $180 back a few minutes after that accidental Venmo, but I learned something valuable: college-era Venmo mistakes are great training for a career in finance.

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