London’s future as an international financial centre has rarely been more precarious. The furore over the systematic manipulation of Libor (the “L” stands for London) that triggered Barclays’ implosion and that will inevitably involve other banks, is merely the latest in a series of scandals in the UK. US regulators have recently started talking about the “London loophole” to describe the supposed slackness of oversight in the City and Canary Wharf.

The reality is that already-tough European regulations are being gold-plated in the UK. This - coupled with endemic banker-bashing by politicians, the erratic treatment of foreign residents and an increasingly punitive tax regime - makes for a hostile environment for international banks and their staff. And London achieves the nasty trick of being both punishingly expensive while also suffering from crumbling infrastructure.