Several of Europe’s largest pension funds appear to have been some of the biggest victims of the Lehman collapse. As the share price of the investment bank fell to catastrophic levels, some schemes invested heavily in Lehman shares, effectively placing speculative bets that private or government groups would bail it out.

Their strategy was simple but highly risky: invest at a share price close to rock bottom, and even a small gain in share price, perhaps in the event of a good rumour or a bail-out, could mean massive returns. All would vanish in a collapse, but if an €80m (£63m, $116m) investment is only a tiny fraction of the portfolio, maybe a gamble that can turn that investment into €120m in just a few short hours is worth it.