When you're in a business which, let's face it, can be as dry as dust, a juicy scandal is almost as refreshing as a mint julep. The troubles now besetting Clearstream have put a new spring in the step of formerly jaded custodians whose daily routines include nothing more exciting than debating the intricacies of proxy voting in Burkina Faso.

The stories and allegations become ever more fanciful, driven in part by the fact that a substantial number of people hold Clearstream and its managers in low esteem. While many recognise that the depository has been innovative and has kept Euroclear on its toes, fewer think that it has been managed solely with the interests of its clients in mind.