Intense competition among the bulge-bracket banks in cash equities trading, which benefited banks including Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse through the crisis, was partly to blame for Icap's failure to make a dent in market share, according to analysts.

Interdealer broker, Icap, which embarked on ambitious plans in 2008 to build a cash equities franchise, said this morning it would close the operations. The nascent business, which employs 114 people, made a £25m (€27.8m) operating loss in the 12 months to March 31, 2010, Icap said.