The coming year could prove a defining period for investment banks in Europe as their post-crisis strategic bets pay off or fall flat, according to Jim Esposito, the London-based co-head of Goldman Sachs’s global financing group.

Esposito, speaking to Financial News at its annual investment banking dinner at Boisdale restaurant in London on November 16, said that he "can't think of a time in my career where each bank has its own unique and differentiated strategy" until now.