The swift unravelling of Greensill Capital, whose flawed business model has been dramatically exposed over the past week, shows that few lessons have been learnt from the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.

Lex Greensill had a simple pitch: he arranged for people to get paid promptly. “What would your business do with unlimited access to working capital?” one of his marketing slogans said. “Imagine the possibilities with Greensill.”