It was no secret Matthew Westerman never really fitted in with the HSBC culture. The departure of the co-head of global banking led to a slew of current and former executives complaining about his style of working. But that personality clash hides a deeper problem facing the bank’s efforts to climb the league table rankings in advisory work.

The problem is that HSBC’s investment banking push has always hinged on the central premise that lending relationships can be turned into more glamorous, and lucrative, assignments in equity capital markets and M&A. Perhaps now, after so many failed attempts at kick-starting the business, senior management might need to readdress the validity of that belief.