For those specialising in helping financial institutions raise debt, equity and execute mergers and acquisitions, the past few years have seen a number of false dawns.

While many in the industry have thought that the sector has been ripe for further consolidation and capital raising, European investment banking fees derived from financial institutions have more than halved from 2007 levels, standing at $4.8bn for the year to December 20, the lowest since 2002. Global investment fees derived from financial institutions were $15bn over the same period, down 23% from the previous year.