It should be the aspiration of every central securities depository to be boring. Depositories are not in business to be spectacular, flashy or even mildly interesting: they are there to be safe, reliable and utterly predictable. It is a lesson that some, most notably Euroclear and the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, have yet to learn. Depositories should be seen and not heard.

Five years ago, Cedel had not learnt this lesson. Its leader, André Lussi, was highly voluble and visible, even though his main business was nothing more than a bond clearing house.