On Tuesday Mr Geithner told Congress that the AIG mess underlines the need for an expanded resolution authority so that regulators could have the same authority over any systemically important financial institution that is not technically a bank, as was the case with Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and AIG.

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But there is a very real sense in which a consumer bank should not really be regarded as a financial institution at all.

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They offer the OKPAY Debit Card which is issued by CSC24Seven.com Limited, a financial institution licensed by the Central Bank of Cyprus to issue cards.

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As investors in European banks await the results of widely-anticipated stress tests, one big European financial institution is making a gutsy call: it is telling investors to buy European bank stocks.

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