Even at the end, after presiding over the worst performance in the 94-year history of Merrill Lynch, and as Bank of America pinned the blame for a bonus payment scandal squarely on his back, John Thain did not seem to know what was about to befall him.

Last Wednesday, Mr Thain purchased 8,400 shares in BofA, which had just rescued his company, and was finalising plans to jet off to Davos, where he would hobnob with members of the global business elite. But on Thursday morning, it was Ken Lewis, BofA chief executive, who hopped on a jet for a short flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to New York, where he confronted Mr Thain in his corner office and dismissed him.