When James Gorman took over the running of Morgan Stanley’s broking business he told then chief executive John Mack he needed 30 days to review the business. Two years on and Gorman is now looking at the operations as a whole, having taken over the running of the US bank on January 1.

Gorman is regarded as unflappable and in New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin's recent book on the financial crisis, Too Big To Fail, he is frequently portrayed as a calming influence during Morgan Stanley's near-death experience in 2008. Fifteen months on from the financial crisis that forced Morgan Stanley to convert itself into a bank holding company and accept $9bn in funding from Japan's MUFG, Gorman has inherited a set of challenges somewhat different from his predecessor that will test his managerial skills.