At Panmure Gordon, former Barclays investment banking boss, Rich Ricci, is looking to revive the fortunes of the City broker, while around two years after his botched appointment as chief executive of Santander, former UBS investment bank CEO, Andrea Orcel, has emerged as a front-runner for the top job at UniCredit.

Orcel is by no means a shoo-in at UniCredit, especially given his ongoing €100m lawsuit against Santander for pulling its offer to install him as chief executive and likely high pay demands, but having his name in the frame is a signal of intent for the bank. One of Italy's largest lenders, UniCredit also has an international outlook and a decent-sized investment bank. It has mandated headhunters Spencer Stuart to find a replacement for its highly-rated outgoing CEO, Jean Pierre Mustier, and has also reportedly spoken to former Credit Suisse boss Tidjane Thiam. The bank also could look internally, or install someone with domestic experience, which would show the strategic direction in which the bank intends to travel.