DAVOS, Switzerland—How the mighty have fallen. A few short years ago bankers were financial masters of the universe who took star billing at the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum here in Davos. This year they were political scapegoats meeting behind closed doors in an attempt to coordinate a response to the opprobrium directed at them by most of the other delegates.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a speech tinged with populist rhetoric, set the tone of blame and finger-pointing for the rest of the week with...