If Credit Suisse's acquisition of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) turns out to be anything like as successful as its purchase of the equities and investment banking business of BZW, it will be an excellent deal. Merging DLJ into Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) will create an investment bank that can mount a genuine challenge to the handful of leading players such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley that now dominate the industry.

Until now, CSFB has generally ranked in the top five, but still some way behind the super-bulge bracket firms. The jewels in DLJ are its high-yield debt franchise, a top-class private equity business and a powerful franchise in sectors of the investment banking market such as technology, telecoms and financial institutions. Combining these with CSFB's existing strengths will create a formidable organisation.