Calyon, the investment bank formed last year through the merger of Crédit Agricole and Crédit Lyonnais, has been hiring aggressively and its strong first-half results suggest the bank has turned the corner after a tough start.

Calyon, which beat analysts' predictions by reporting a 48% rise in net profits to €667m ($834m) in the first six months, won praise for its performance after "several black quarters", in the words of one analyst.