Beauty, as any artist will tell you, is often a function of symmetry. And while the revenues brought in by the fixed income, currencies and commodities divisions of investment banks over the past decade were certainly attractive, some would argue that – like a large nose – they had become a little overdominant.

The FICC divisions accounted for as much as 70% of revenues at the largest 13 investment banks in recent years, according to research by consultancy McKinsey.