In a bar in Leadenhall Market a group of City workers enjoy a lunchtime pint as they celebrate making it to the end of the week in one piece. A day or two ago, in the midst of the market collapse, people like this must have felt as if they had an inescapable date with the scaffold; then in walks Hank Paulson with a king’s pardon, and it’s off to the pub to sink a few swift ones as they toast their lucky escape.

For them the week ended with stirring tales of a surging market and the biggest one-day gain in the FTSE’s history. For others, however, the banking crisis will have an effect that will be felt for a long time to come. The pain isn’t over yet.

At HBOS thousands of workers are spending the weekend wondering how much longer they will be in a job. Lloyds TSB has dismissed claims that 40,000 will have to go as “ridiculous”, but has failed to rule out compulsory redundancies.

For others the effects of the turmoil are being felt already. Over the past few years London has seen the spectacular growth of a market in luxury goods and services as bankers have sought ever more imaginative ways of spending their bonuses. The personal trainer, the cellar of first-growth clarets, the team of nannies to cover every hour of the waking day – when times were good, no expense would be spared.

Now, however, even with the US government bailout much uncertainty lies ahead and the army of people who have made it their business to meet the needs of City types with money to burn are facing a sudden and drastic fall in demand. From nannies to dog walkers, florists to chauffeurs, they are bracing themselves for difficult times.

Kate Baker, director of Abbeville Nannies, which operates in London’s “Nappy Valley” – the affluent middle-class enclaves of Battersea and Wandsworth – said that City employees had already started to fire their nannies. “If the dad loses his job, then the nanny is the first to go. It’s been happening over the past six to twelve months, but its really accelerating now.”

Marie, 25, a fully qualified nanny who works in West Sussex, said that there were fewer full-time nannying positions now than at any time in the past seven years. “It is very difficult at the moment. There are a lot of nannies for very few positions.

“I am in a temporary job at the moment and I took it because there were no permanent positions around. People are just cutting back and one of the things they are cutting back on is us.”

Other luxuries, including personal trainers and spa memberships, are also being culled. Nisa Taheri, a member of the sales team of the CityPoint Club health and spa near the Barbican, said that business had dropped by 50 per cent compared with September last year.

“We have had quite a lot people cancelling their membership. Our clients are traders, lawyers, bankers . . . so if something happens [in the City] we get affected much more.”

Brian Savage, a personal trainer based in Docklands, has seen a marked decrease in demand in recent weeks. On Tuesday he was phoned by a client who cancelled her weekly training sessions at £40 a hour with him. She had been made redundant by Lehman Brothers.

“People are telling me it’s a bit difficult at the moment,” said Mr Savage, 27. “Rather than spending time in the gym they need to be at their desks. I tell them that health and fitness is a good investment in their lifestyle.”

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