If you had to pick one firm that summed up the prevailing issues that buffeted the financial industry in 2012 it would have to be UBS. The Swiss bank started the year reeling from a rogue trading loss that prompted the departure of chief executive Oswald Grübel and ended it having to pay $1.5bn to settle Libor charges.

Along the way, it announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs and shut down most of its fixed-income business - demonstrating that UBS, like a growing number of its rivals, has not only woken up to its altered circumstances but has actually accepted that it needs to do something about them.