It is seldom a bad time to be a mergers and acquisitions banker in financial services, but this year looks set to be a vintage one. Activity in the sector accounts for 28% of European M&A, the highest proportion for five years.

Financial institutions make up a quarter of global market capitalisation, a quarter of global M&A activity and 25% of equity capital markets business, according to analysts. About 70% of debt capital market raisings are made by financial institutions.