The European business of HSBC’s global banking and markets unit suffered from a lack of stimulus from the European Central Bank in the second quarter of this year, with pre-tax profits diving by 90% on the previous three months.

The UK bank made just $92m in its global banking and markets unit in Europe in the three months to June, according to its first-half interim results published this morning. This compares to the $951m it brought in during the first quarter of the year, when the European Central Bank provided a fillip to market sentiment with its move to offer hundreds of billions of euros of cheap money to the eurozone's banks through its long-term refinancing operation, or LTRO. The move, intended to help banks repair their balance sheets and boost lending to the real economy, fuelled higher rates business in the region.