Death threats in the mail. A former executive’s home vandalised. Protests in the streets. The mood has turned ugly: public revulsion against the banking industry, blamed by many for provoking the worst global economic crisis since the 1930s, is reaching a new intensity in the US, Britain and mainland Europe.

Politicians veer disconcertingly between stoking the anti-banker hysteria – an easy scapegoat for their own failures – and trying to calm things down. For the moment, it may be beyond their power to assuage the anger. Perhaps the fury will abate. But business leaders and others are voicing concern about the long-term consequences.