That's the bill non-financial corporate borrowers face over the next two years as a chunk of their debts become due for repayment or refinancing, according to data from Dealogic.

In normal times borrowers would roll the debts over with their lending banks, or maybe issue new bonds. But as financial firms cram down their bloated balance sheets, doing so is harder, where it’s possible at all.

Those who borrow direct from the banks – around 85pc of the total in Europe, though much less in the US – will find there are simply fewer loans to go round. Banks are under pressure to shrink the asset side of their balance sheet, even as they are forced to bring off-balance sheet vehicles onto their books. The IMF estimates that European and US banks alone will cut $10 trillion of assets over the next five years.

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