Société Générale’s head of rates strategy has defended the rival banks that arranged Greece’s €8bn ($11.2bn) bond sale earlier this week, lambasting the “sneering” reporting surrounding the issue and ultimately for casting “a shadow over bankers’ integrity”.

Paris-based Ciaran O'Hagan said in a note today that it was "galling to see the sneering of some journalists" in their reporting of concerns that Greece's five-year bonds were "aggressively" marketed to investors by the six banks that arranged the sale.