A little over a decade ago, I published a book called F.I.A.S.C.O.: Blood in the Water on Wall Street. I described the antics of the finance industry and criticised some egregious market excesses. Back then, the derivatives market was worth a quaint $50,000bn, collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) contained mostly corporate bonds and loans, and credit default swaps had just been invented.

Most people say the financial world today has been transformed radically since then.