In an elegant mountain restaurant high above Davos on Wednesday night, Barclays Bank staged a glitzy dinner where its senior executives entertained luminaries including Rupert Murdoch, the media magnate, and Stephen Schwarzman of the Blackstone private equity group.

The evening was an opportunity for the bank to reassure clients that it had weathered the credit turmoil relatively well. But although many financial institutions have been staging similar events this week, the smiles and fine wines have been unable to overcome the apprehensive mood.