Bankers continue to slide down the popularity pole with the revelations that Barclays massaged the Libor interest rate, at which banks lend to each other, in their favour, which earned them a £290 million fine, and a considerably larger sum in reputation damage, at home and abroad.

In the wake of the scandal Barclay’s chairman Marcus Aguis, its chief operating officer Jerry del Missier and its chief executive Bob Diamond, for some reason called Bob the Rob in some quarters, have all resigned. They are tipped to be the first of many. One Barclays fan however is colourful London mayor Boris Johnson who has pointed out Barclays charitable donations to his causes as “money we’re not going to turn up our noses at”, though some will now claim it is dirty money that smells of fraud.

Meanwhile there have been suggestions that the British Bankers Association (BBA) should be giving more guidance on ethical issues to its members, though others wonder what a body that has acted mostly as a rather obvious PR vehicle for its paymasters could bring to the table in this respect.