So George Osborne is serious about a “new settlement” with the City after all. That was what he promised at the Mansion House last month. But his speech contained so little meat that his pledge was met with understandable scepticism.

The replacement of Martin Wheatley as chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority is the real statement of intent that many in the City were looking for. Wheatley has come to personify what the industry sees as the over-reaction by regulators to the problems exposed by the financial crisis, an over-reaction that is harming the competitiveness of the City and undermining its ability to support the real economy.