In a more normal market, Barclays’ announcement on Monday that it was raising an additional £7bn ($12bn) in capital and scrapping its final dividend would have been seen as a humiliating admission of defeat.

Compared with the £37bn government bail-out of three of its main UK rivals, however, the declaration by John Varley, Barclays’ chief executive, that the bank did not intend to seek state support appeared to vindicate its approach to managing its capital reserves.