In a speech that elicited a standing ovation, Howard Lutnick, chairman and CEO of New York bond broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP thanked Bay Street for standing behind his firm in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, which devastated his business.

Lutnick appeared at the Investment Dealers Association’s annual conference in St Andrew’s by-the-Sea, N.B. on Monday to pay his respects to the Canadian securities industry, for their part in keeping his business alive.

Cantor and its sister firm, e-Speed, were hit hardest by the attacks on the World Trade Center, losing about two-thirds of their staff.

Lutnick said that the only reason his firm survived the ordeal was because of the support it received from industry firms, and because of the incredible psychological change the attacks wrought on his staff.

Lutnick said that since the attacks the only people that matter to him are the families of the victims, his employees, clients and shareholders.

However, Lutnick said that he came to Canada today because of the support provided from the IDA, Canadian securities firms and banks following the attacks. “That meant a lot. And, that’s why I’ve come. I wanted to thank you for your support — because it matters a lot.”

By keeping the business alive, Lutnick said that his firms have been able to generate more than US$100 million for the families of his dead employees. Along with giving 25% of their profits, it also donates 100% of revenues from each September 12. He said that 80% of his employees donated their pay on September 12 to the families, too.

As for the remaining employees, Lutnick explained that their attitudes underwent a sea change after the attacks. They rededicated themselves to their jobs and cut through all of the petty infighting that can weigh down a business.

The London offices stopped fighting with New York, people stopped making promises they couldn’t deliver on, and they stopped giving themselves generous deadlines. “They just got it done,” he said.