The former chief executive of JP Morgan Cazenove and one of the best-known names in the City of London financial sector, Robert Pickering, has entered the growing debate over investment banking fees by expressing surprise that banks’ clients are not questioning how much they pay in light of “ferocious competition” in the marketplace.

Pickering, who led the investment banking joint venture from its creation until leaving the company in March last year, agreed with suggestions that fee structures in investment banking are a factor in the debate over bankers' bonuses, because bonuses are "a function of high profitability".