From his base in the K?nigs-allee, the canalside boulevard that is Düsseldorf’s premier shopping street and one of the smartest German office addresses, Andreas Schmitz is well placed to monitor European economic progress – or lack thereof.

Not only does he head HSBC Trinkaus, a German subsidiary of the UK financial group that helps look after the wealth of the surrounding Rhine-Ruhr industrial heartland and beyond. As president of the BdB, the country’s main banking association, he is also a frequent visitor to Frankfurt, the commercial capital and home to the European Central Bank.

As the ECB and Europe’s national leaders grapple with a sovereign bond crisis that threatens the continent’s nearly 13-year-old monetary union, Mr Schmitz’s corporate clients are among those questioning its durability. “There is no blueprint for anything,” he says. “You do discuss certain scenarios with customers, but it is like poking around in the fog.”