Whisper it gently, but banks are rediscovering their taste for asset management. Last month, following Lloyds Bank’s sale of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership to Aberdeen Asset Management, HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver was quick to kill gossip that he planned a similar move.

He said: "We're not selling asset management. So asset management's not going to be sold: it's not for sale; it's a key part of the wealth management proposition of the group, both for retail banking and also for private banking." Got that straight, everyone?