A change of chief executive can be very unsettling for any organisation. Staff, customers, investors and competitors all try to work out what it could mean for them. Will the new boss favour this bit of business or that, this person or the other? Will they focus on growth or on costs? Will they do yet another pointless reorganisation of the sales force and redesign the corporate logo?

So the changes – announced or pending – at the head of many of Europe’s biggest banks have set off a flurry of speculation. Among the questions being asked around the City is which, if any, of the new bosses are likely to do big deals.