Last week El Diary was in the Catalonian capital for sun, sangria and structured finance as 4,000 delegates descended on the catchily-named Annual Global Asset-Backed Securities Conference, which was every bit as fun as it sounds.

Expectations were high as pointy-hatted finance gurus speculated on key industry issues such as how drunk the most drunk delegate would be; would panel members outnumber their audience; and would anyone – except your highly-motivated correspondent – make it, bleary-eyed, to the 9.15am sessions? (Yup, apparently Spain has a nine in the morning as well now.)

The hottest topic of all, however, was which firm had the most expensive giveaway at the marketing stands. Lovells underlined its cost-conscious credentials by giving away cow-shaped piggy banks, while well-polished City rival Ashurst countered with shoe-shining kits. Linklaters showed its ability to multi-task seamlessly by dishing out highlighter pens that doubled as Post-it dispensers.

Norton Rose upped the stakes with travel editions of Connect Four (its partners move around a lot – usually to other firms) while Simmons & Simmons remembered the good times with branded USB memory-sticks.

However, first prize went to Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, which handed out a strictly limited supply of branded sports-watches resembling (fake) Rolexes. The Diary has three of them.