A recent flurry of screw-ups by investment banks has provided further evidence of the veracity of Murphy’s Law: if something can go wrong it will. And it has shone the spotlight on the traditionally dull world of operational risk – this could be the next big battleground between regulators and banks.

While many banks have been obsessed with credit, liquidity and market risks, operational risk - the possibility that banks will lose money because of inadequate or failed internal systems, processes, people and business practices - has quietly crept up and stolen their wallets.