The report, by the City of London Corporation, suggests City employers like students from overseas because they have better language skills, greater maturity, better business awareness, and (unsurprisingly) the potential to conduct business in foreign countries.

Continental European students typically graduate from university with a masters qualification in their mid to late 20s, unlike in the UK where leaving higher education aged 21 is the norm. They also undertake long periods of work experience as part of their courses.

Graduate recruiters offer differing verdicts on foreign students’ appeal. “We recruit globally and this isn’t something we’ve encountered at all,” one tells us.

But two others confess to an appreciation of European students’ superior assets. “Not only do they have work experience and are better prepared for working at a bank, but they have the language and cultural capabilities we’re looking for as well,” says the head of recruitment at one international firm. “This year there are 58 different languages spoken in our European graduate class,” she adds. “Three years ago hires were predominantly from the UK.”

Fortunately for neglected UK graduates, hiring juniors may not be a zero sum game. Stuart Bernau, chairman of the Financial Services Skills Council, predicts London will generate around 4,000 new financial services jobs a year, largely in high-value-added roles.