There is a saying among traders that “the trend is your friend”. By that logic, mergers and acquisitions bankers are feeling decidedly lonely at present.

In a bumpy market, heads of M&A are finding themselves stuck when asked to identify a trend. European-targeted monthly volumes reach close to $100bn one month, as they did in February, only to fall more than 40% the following month. On a quarterly basis, volumes have moved in the same direction for two consecutive quarters just once since the first quarter of 2010.