Last year was a bumper one for the US banks. From the local and regional retail outfits to the international money centre groups, to the specialised investment banking and fee-earning businesses, circumstances conspired in their favour.

If Spain has waited 140 years to launch its first jumbo mortgage-backed bond it is not the fault of any mañana system. The cédula hipotecaria (CH) was introduced in the market in 1861 but, until this year, it remained an instrument exclusively for retail investors.