Goldman Sachs slashed its bonus pool in the first quarter after what chief executive Lloyd Blankfein described as “headwinds across virtually every business” – led by a $2 billion plunge in fixed-income and equity trading – swept revenues to a four-year low.

The horrendous start to 2016 for investment banks has already taken its toll on Wall Street rivals including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, and Goldman added to the gloom on April 19 as it revealed first-quarter net revenues dived 40% year-on-year to $6.3 billion - the lowest since the final three months of 2011 when the bank earned $6.05 billion.