Ancient Chinese military general and philosopher Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War: “If you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.”

Perhaps, Michel Barnier, the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, who last week said that new rules to clamp down on the shadow banking industry were among his main priorities for the coming year, should peruse a copy of the famous Chinese treatise. His chosen foe is famously slippery.