Austerity and investment banking are not words that often appear in the same sentence. So many investment banks have found the enforced restraint of the past few years something of a struggle. Everything has been cut back, from bonuses, staff and expense accounts, to risk-taking, proprietary trading and leverage.

Everything that is, except balance sheets. Investment banks are supposed to be reining themselves in under the combined pressure of the slowdown in financial markets and regulatory reform. You would therefore expect balance sheets to be shrinking.