This time a year ago, many people were anxious, stressed and uncertain. The world’s most senior bankers, regulators and traders and legions of junior staff too were working around the clock amid a frantic effort to prevent Lehman Brothers going bankrupt.

A year later, the repercussions of Lehman’s demise – and the rescue of AIG a day later – continue to be felt, not least in the global efforts to tame the privately-traded derivatives markets, home to financial contracts with an estimated face value of roughly $600,000bn.