April 2008 was not the most auspicious time to launch an investment bank. UK lender Northern Rock had been nationalised, US investment bank Bear Stearns had been saved from bankruptcy by JP Morgan, and the International Monetary Fund had dubbed the US sub-prime crisis “the largest financial shock since the Great Depression”.

But five years later it appears Russian lender VTB Group's decision to hire a swathe of Moscow-based Deutsche Bank staff to help form its investment banking arm - VTB Capital - during the crisis has paid off. It has built up a dominant position in Russian investment banking, ranking top for revenues in every full year since its formation.