Allianz and its shareholders are faced with the prospect of a shrinking banking operation, at any rate in relation to the rest of the insurance group (see chart).

ECONOMIST: Dresdner Bank and Allianz

No mention is made of the fact that America's banking system is both less concentrated and smaller in relation to the economy than those of many other industrialised countries.

ECONOMIST: The financial crisis and the future of regulation

The goal is to remove people who aren't "pulling their weight, " said one investment-banking head at a major bank, adding that "banks are overbuilt" in relation to the work available.

WSJ: Wall Street Gets Lean

It should "consider what lessons are to be learned in relation to transparency, conflicts of interest, culture and the professional standards of the banking industry", Mr Osborne suggested.

BBC: Osborne rejects case for public inquiry on banks