In an anonymous office building not far from the tailors of London's Savile Row, occupying a small room packed with desks and computer terminals, Davide Serra and Eric Halet have just opened for business.

Mr Serra, a former top-rated banking analyst at Morgan Stanley, and Mr Halet, previously a fund manager for Wellington Investments, this month launched Algebris, a hedge fund dedicated to investing in banks, insurers and other financial groups.