The world’s largest investment banks cut out 2,600 front-line jobs in the 12 months to the end of September, taking their total workforce below 50,000 for the first time since the financial crisis.

The latest figures from Coalition, the data provider that tracks employment numbers at the 12 largest investment banks, show they employed 49,200 people in those divisions at the end of September, down from 50,400 at the end of June.