As governments across the world roll out their plans to re-regulate the financial system, one aspect of the financial debacle receives far too little attention. This is the speed with which great institutions of national importance can be destroyed by ill-judged takeovers.

The phrase “winner’s curse” barely does justice to the plight of Bank of America after its takeover of Merrill Lynch. So, too, with RBS’s acquisition of ABN Amro; and even more so with Lloyds TSB, where the disastrous purchase of HBOS came after years of prudent behaviour and pedestrian performance.