Despite last year’s financial meltdown, politicians and investors fear that is exactly what has happened. Banks, which are rebuilding among the rubble of their rivals, have begun to spray money round to recruit what they regard as the best talent – even though some of those people are the ones that took the reckless decisions that forced governments to step in to prevent the whole system from crashing down.

Lloyds axes 2,100 jobs to take tally to 7,000

Lloyds Banking Group today unveiled plans to cut a further 2,100 jobs in a move condemned by unions as an "astonishing, systematic slashing of staff."

The announcement takes the total cull by Lloyds since it acquired HBOS, and was bailed out by the taxpayer, to more than 7,000 jobs.

The latest cuts include 150 posts in West Yorkshire, 100 in Birmingham and 350 jobs in Scotland. The redundancies will be implemented over the next three years.

In a statement, Lloyds said 700 of the cuts would be achieved by laying-off contract and agency staff and via 'natural attrition.'