Financial institutions might be selling off non-core back-office businesses cheaply as they are forced to restructure in a fight for recovery, but custodian banks are treading carefully when it comes to making bolt-on acquisitions.

Bob Iati, global head of consulting at research provider Tabb Group, said: "There was a time when people in this sector were looking for revenue-producing products and were ready to pay - now they are focusing on core competencies as they know the 'top line' will not be there for a while.