Walk in the front door of any of London’s financial institutions and ask the question “Who are your rising stars?” and you will elicit a standard response: a short cough, followed by the polite explanation that “we don’t really talk about star individuals here, our success is built on teamwork.”

But walk in the back door and have a casual conversation with the same executives and the initial impression is that those in the financial community talk about precious little else, apart from what the ‘rising star’ in question might be earning.