It was a twist of fate. In the same month as Jardine Fleming sacked one of its senior executives for being involved in gun-running for rebels in Papua New Guinea, another man with miltary ties was airing his views on the similarities of banking and soldiering in Fleming's monthly research reports.
The guest writer in April's edition was Sir Peter de la Billiere, commander of the British forces during the Gulf War and a former member of the elite SAS (Special Air Service).
Now a non-executive director at Flemings, Sir Peter is no stranger to writing, having already been banned from SAS functions for revealing details of some of its operations in a book of memoirs. His contribution to his new battalion's research report is likely to offend only those who abhor too much purple prose. AC