Investment banking has come under the spotlight again, especially at firms outside the so-called ‘bulge bracket’ such as Commerzbank, one of Germany’s biggest banks. Commerzbank put in a significant effort, not to mention a considerable amount of capital, in building an investment banking capability in Europe as well as other parts of the world. But like many of its peers Commerzbank eventually decided that enough was enough and decided to effectively pull the plug earlier this month.

But this was not before Mehmet Dalman, the charismatic head of Commerzbank Securities, decided to leave the bank in the last we...