Ten years ago, the Bank of New York was famous for three reasons: it had bought Irving Trust, it had a strong business in American depositary receipts, and had what were possibly the worst offices of any custodian in the UK. So embarrassed were its managers by their condition – despite being in a swanky part of London's West End – that they would make every effort to arrange meetings with clients, prospects, consultants and journalists at other locations.

There was always one exception to this corporate reticence, however. Tom Perna seemed to relish the scruffiness of the offices, as if it were a virtuous display of the bank's cost consciousness. Perna, who recently announced his decision to leave BNY next month, appeared almost proud of the fact that so little had been spent on staff comforts. After all, the low-cost provider of custody services had to be seen to be walking the walk.