The past has finally caught up with Barclays. The UK bank's decision to ask shareholders to stump up £5.8 billion ($8.9 billion) in fresh equity, alongside the £7 billion of capital it plans to free up through bond and asset sales, marks a resounding defeat for the bank at the hands of regulators.

It ends a five-year game of cat-and-mouse during which Barclays went to the outer limits of the regulatory and accounting rule books in an attempt to evade the consequences of its racy past.