Deutsche Bank’s revelation of a €4.8bn ($6.4bn) fourth quarter loss underscores how even institutions that have proved relatively robust during the financial crisis have been severely weakened by its scale.

Conditions in October, with financial institutions collapsing worldwide, were dreadful for a bank such as Deutsche Bank that was so immersed in credit and equities trading. The losses at many hedge funds have already shown the scale of market dislocation.