The abuses in the foreign exchange markets laid bare this week were very ugly. And it is possible that there is still more to be revealed. But you could hear faint sighs of relief from certain parts of the City. The fear was that it could have been worse.

The regulators rightly slammed the banks for their failure to stamp out the abuses, even after the manipulation of Libor came to light. Some of the banks received specific warnings from whistleblowers and clients, yet didn't seem to take them seriously enough.