In a similar way, the tumultuous aura around emerging markets in recent weeks contrasts sharply with the tranquil, event-free holidays most loans bankers seem to have been taking.
“Mostly on the beach,” has been a common refrain.
But for some bankers returning today after three weeks out, the awakening may be rude. One or two loans bankers were convinced at the start of August that Europe would not reach accord on sanctions against Russia and "the whole thing would play out" while they were off relaxing.
“Couldn’t have come at a better time,” said one, on the way to the airport.
No such luck - if the Russian loan market was battered in the first half of the year, it now looks like a smoking ruin.
For others, more pedestrian issues can still cause headaches. For one leveraged loan banker, the discomfort of returning last week was about basic practicalities of working life.
Email management had become his second biggest problem, after compliance. Which makes perfect sense, given that email mountains are also proportional in size to the time spent, well, not opening emails.
Happily for our banker it has now become his third biggest problem, after having lunch with Loan Ranger.