Banks wanting to break into the bulge bracket should charge more. That seems to be the advice of UBS Warburg corporate financier John Cryan, who explains in The Banker's April issue why Prudential used his firm for its American General bid. He says it was 'because we have a huge and expensive equity machine that can handle this sort of thing'. Reassuringly expensive, presumably. If Goldman Sachs wants to work for the Pru again, it should bear this in mind.