For decades, Goldman Sachs has been as American as apple pie or July 4. Less charitably, you might say the bank is as American as the grey squirrel. But no longer. Some time this year (probably in the past few months) Goldman Sachs passed an important milestone. For the first time, it employs more staff outside the US than in its home market.

This marks a tipping point not just for Goldman Sachs but for the whole industry. It is the inevitable response to the long-term shift in global economic activity eastwards and southwards. Adapting to that shift poses huge problems for investment banks, not least in balancing the long-term investment it requires with the short-term imperative to make money.