“There is never any justification for things being complex when they could be simple,” Edward de Bono once said. The lateral thinker never had to rescue a bank. The complexity of the US government’s third attempt to shore up Citigroup was partly designed to keep the state’s interest below 40 per cent. But other nuances may begin to temper chaos in markets for banks’ preferred securities.

Holders of Citi’s $27bn preferred shares face losing their dividend if they resist swapping into common equity. That leaves them with little choice but to convert. Penalties for delay, meanwhile, put pressure on existing shareholders to vote to dilute themselves. Citi’s prefs had been beaten down amid uncertainty to about 20 cents in the dollar. That they rallied sharply on Friday and largely held that ground on Monday reflected, in part, that the conversion price was set slightly lower than expected (translating into more common shares, in effect, offering a premium).