Grounded dealmakers unable to fly at a moment's notice for pitches or spend money on wining and dining clients due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, have saved some of the world's largest banks over $1bn in the past 12 months.

Travel and entertainment costs have slumped at large investment banks including Goldman Sachs, HSBC, UBS and Deutsche Bank, according to Financial News' analysis of their annual reports, as Covid-19 lockdowns have restricted high-flying investment bankers to conduct multi-billion-dollar transactions over Zoom.