Barclays Capital has reached its highest-ever position in the US initial public offering bookrunner rankings, almost three years after establishing an equities business in the country through the acquisition of Lehman Brothers' operations there.

The UK bank is on course to end the first half of 2011 ranked second behind Goldman Sachs and ahead of Morgan Stanley in third. The UK bank has worked as a bookrunner on 13 initial public offerings in the US this year, raising a total of $3.4bn, narrowly trailing Goldman Sachs, which has helped US companies raise $3.9bn.