A person close to the bank group said, however, that the banks were open to continuing talks with the Asian companies.

Spending on technology was one of the first things that Asian companies cut, and revenue declined.

"Asian companies know the culture here," the director said.

Asian companies came in at the low-margin end and worked their way up.

But they may be enough to drive down the prices of the big Asian companies.

Its 1,850 staff include more than 150 analysts covering 1,200 Asian companies across 13 sectors.

And sorting out various ownership rights in Asian companies is complex.

We could learn a lot from the Asian companies as relationships, honesty and trust are 75pc of the sale.

He has also discussed the technology with several Asian companies, he said.

Their clients these days are more likely to be Asian companies with new lines of subcompacts.