Investment bankers are fond of describing the equity capital markets as more of an art than a science, but when that market has become dysfunctional, it is time for them to worry less about scores for artistic merit and more about hard numbers.

The current seizure in the IPO market - 23 of the 25 large proposed or completed deals in Europe this year have either been pulled or are trading below their issue prices - is more fundamental than just the uncertainty in global equity markets.