Like Emmanuel Macron, the biggest French investment banks went into 2018 riding high, confident they could exploit the weakness of their rivals and consolidate their position as European leaders. A year later, just like the French president, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale have come down to earth with a bump.

Their share prices have fallen almost as fast as Macron’s poll ratings, as doubts have grown about how realistic their ambitions are. Now both have announced cost-cutting programmes that may turn out to be watersheds for their investment banks.