Many thanks to Peter Meinertzhagen, the dapper chairman of ABN Amro Hoare Govett, for reminding us this year of the golden age of UK corporate broking. I am sure Meinertzhagen would not mind me saying that you have to be of a certain age to understand the previous influence of UK corporate broking. Ideally, you should have been working in the City of London before Big Bang in October 1986.

Before those changes, the City was a much kinder place. You worked long hours but had fun. The euromarkets were relatively new and, as bankers criss-crossed the globe selling their latest financial inventions, they were making up the rules. In regions such as Asia Pacific, there were no rules. Most bankers didn't go to China unless their plane was accidentally diverted.