The financial crisis has brought into sharp focus the question of whether bankers deserve to be lauded and loved for boosting London's global status, not to mention the Exchequer's tax coffers, or vilified for their role in causing the crisis. With the world split into two camps, the stage is set for a highly-charged debate next month.

The City has helped make London one of the world's most enviable financial centres, but the crisis, and a litany of scandals since - from rogue trading to Libor-fixing - have left bankers rock bottom in the popularity stakes.