From the outside, HSBC has always looked too big to manage. A politburo of sluggishness which meant opportunities would be missed and impending disasters overlooked.
Internally, many staff would recognise that description and shrug. What can you do?
In many cases, they seemed to be trading job satisfaction for job security.
Thousands of them will now lose those jobs so even that security was an illusion.
The top two at the bank, chief executive Noel Quinn and finance director Ewen Stevenson, are a formidable pair.
They talk plainly and won’t be afraid of taking action, however drastic, to set the bank in the right direction.
As they, and chairman Mark Tucker would have to admit, so many of the issues facing the bank are global and beyond their control.
They can take as much local action as they like and the bigger picture will still be painted by others.
