Almost Friday! Dan DeFrancesco in NYC, but don't approach me unless you have something nice to say. I'm taking a page out of this ballet director's book and smearing dog poop in the face of any of my critics.

On tap, we've got stories on the most powerful people at JPMorgan, a refugee who built a career as a private banker to high-profile clientele, and Jeff Bezos' massive yacht goes for a spin.

But first, the best of the banker bunch. 

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1. Top M&A bankers of 2022.

Last year was a nightmare scenario for investment bankers. From inflation, to rising rates, to new geopolitical risks, everything seemed to be working against anyone looking to get a deal done. 

That's why you could argue that this year's edition of "The Rainmakers" — Insider's annual list of the 20 M&A bankers who handled the largest deals of the year in North America — is more impressive than previous editions. (Check out the lists from 2019, 2020, and 2021.) 

Insider's Carter Johnson and Alex Morrell have the rundown on this year's list, which is compiled in conjunction with MergerLinks, a financial data service that tracks deals. 

What's interesting about this year's list is how it was made up of bankers almost entirely from the bulge-bracket. In years past, boutique banks and advisory firms have been well represented. But in 2022, amid an uncertain market, many clients chose to work with the largest investment banks. 

It's a trend we've seen time and again on Wall Street. During turbulent times, people tend to trust larger institutions over smaller shops. Take the hedge-fund industry, for example, where the biggest firms had a massive year despite most funds in the space struggling.

Check out our list of the top-20 M&A bankers who made the most during a difficult year for dealmaking.

In other news:

2. Betterment gets hit with the layoff bug. The robo advisor cut 28 employees and shut one of its offices. More on the layoffs here.

3. These are the 114 most-powerful people at JPMorgan. We mapped out the top executives and where they sit within the largest US bank by assets. Check out the org chart on JPMorgan.

4. How a Somalian refugee-turned-banker built a $6.7 billion book of business with high-profile clientele. BofA private banker Dega Nalayeh's inspiring story is worth a read. Here's how she built her business while raising a toddler as a single mother.

5. What exactly am I paying you for? The money managers and family offices for some of the world's wealthiest people, including Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and the Walton family, sold tech stocks right before their big rally in 2023. Which begs the question: Are they dumb, or do they know something we don't? More here.

6. Goldman Sachs isn't working on a credit card anymore. Amid a larger reset of its consumer business, the bank has dropped plans to roll out a Goldman-branded card, CNBC reports. Guess you'll have to settle for trying to impress people with your Amex Black card. 

7. Turns out putting computer chips directly into your brain might not be a good idea. Studies have shown that so-called "brain chips," a new type of tech being championed by Elon Musk, might have some significant knock-on effects. Read more on that here.

8. Credit Suisse wants out of distressed debt. The bank is looking to sell off its portfolio of loans and bonds tied to distressed companies, which is valued at roughly $250 million, as part of the bank's larger restructuring, per Bloomberg. One wonders if it'll return to the space, albeit on the other side. More on why the Swiss bank wants out of the business.

9. We finally found out who helped cover Sam Bankman-Fried's bail. The names of the two people who sponsored SBF's $250 million bond — no, they didn't actually put up that much money — had been anonymous. But a federal judge unsealed their names after Insider and other media organizations argued in court that their identities should be public. Here's more on the two people guaranteeing SBF's bond and why they did it.

10. Jeff Bezos' $500 million yacht finally hit the open water. The 417-footer is undergoing sea trials this week. It's set to be the biggest sailing yacht in the world once it's finished. Check out a video of it hitting the open water.

Curated by Dan DeFrancesco in New York. Feedback or tips? Email ddefrancesco@insider.com, tweet @dandefrancesco, or connect on LinkedIn. Edited by Jeffrey Cane (tweet @jeffrey_cane) in New York and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) and Nathan Rennolds (tweet @ncrennolds) in London.