As City bosses struggle to steer their firms through financial market turmoil, the last thing they want is a missive from the chief executive of the Financial Services Authority telling them where they should or shouldn’t cut costs. Hector Sants’ letter – sent last week – invites top executives to “consider carefully” whether they should axe the middle and back-office staff responsible for the all-important valuation and marking to market of complex tradeable instruments.

Mr Sants’ observation that control staff don’t have the skills or seniority to challenge their customer-facing counterparts – particularly on the trading floor – plunges the FSA deep into the office politics of investment banking. As with all caricatures, there’s some truth in the image of a front-office populated by preening overpaid show-offs – the revenue generators and rainmakers – and a back-office staffed with neglected and resentful dorks. No prizes for guessing which group tends to dominate the boardroom, and where, therefore, the first cuts in “overheads” fall when a firm is trying to save face with clients.