What's this: has Lord Myners had a change of heart towards those misunderstood bankers and their employers? Myners, the UK's Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury, has been bashing banks, bankers and their shareholders ever since he entered government in October 2008.

But in a speech he gave yesterday at a breakfast event thrown by the Social Market Foundation think-tank, Myners sounded more like a staunch defender of the industry.