The traditional omertà at Goldman Sachs makes public criticism from a departing employee all the more stinging. Goldman bankers keep quiet as a matter of corporate culture and because it is in their financial interests to do so. But, as the departing derivatives salesman Greg Smith argued, there?are?cracks?in?the?culture.

More bankers are now prepared to speak, at least privately, about their worries that life at the bank will not be as lucrative or as fun as it was in the past. The threat to the business model from new regulation has caused many to question the company’s future and their future at it.

Some, like Mr Smith, express concern about the way clients are treated. Perhaps most worryingly for Lloyd Blankfein, the bank’s chief executive, some think change is needed at the top.