It endured lengthy delays, regulatory uncertainty and a protracted game of brinkmanship. But in the end, roiling financial markets prompted HSBC to walk away from Korea. The UK-based bank, which had been keen to beef up its Asian roots, on Friday scrapped its $6.3bn offer for 51 per cent of Korea Exchange Bank.

Events of the past few weeks made the deal, struck a year ago, increasingly anomalous. For the same money, HSBC could now buy Washington Mutual twice over, snap up one-third of Morgan Stanley – or virtuall take out all of KEB (minus any control premium).