Any hope the investment banks harbour that incoming regulation, and in particular Basel III, will be diluted or delayed surely took a hit today when the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published its latest half-yearly economic outlook.

The OECD, the economic body that represents more than 30 countries, has provided estimates on the impact of Basel III on the economic growth of the US, Europe and Japan, and the picture it paints is far less dramatic than the one put forward by the Institute of International Finance, which represents the banks, over the summer.