Jean-Claude Trichet, European Central Bank president, had a clear message at Davos on Thursday: financial markets must help policymakers rebuild the levels of confidence in the banking system required to kick-start economic growth around the world.

The ECB’s French president was at pains to emphasise the importance of banks being allowed to reduce levels of regulatory capital at a time of stress such as now, and tried to send a message to markets that their pressure on banks to hold more capital was wrong.