There was great potential for confusion at Deutsche Bank?s London office one day last month. Standing in the grand reception area was a large sign bearing the words ?Welcome to Marks and Spencer?.
As our UK readers know, M&S is one of the country?s best-known retail brand names ? a purveyor of cotton underwear, elasticated trousers and fine food since 1884.
The store also has a long-standing reputation for accepting returned items. If your grandmother and great aunty Flo both buy you the same M&S sweater for Christmas, you can always take one back ? no questions asked.
The reaction could be slightly different if you tried to return a three-pack of panties to Deutsche Bank, however. ?No madam, this is the foreign exchange desk,? could be the reply. Or the swaps desk, for that matter.
It turns out that M&S was using the Deutsche office as a location to announce its preliminary full-year results.
If, however, the bank does decide to start selling underpants, we will happily stand corrected.