Machines have taken a major bite out of the trading business in recent years. Now, the coronavirus is threatening to finish off traditional human-to-human voice trading fast.

“The day of the voice trader is dead,” says Hugh Cumberland, a veteran of the industry. “People may cling, there may be some emotional attachment and people may hang on, but when we go back after all this and do the washing up, we’ll see that Covid-19 has accelerated that.”