The year is nearly up and Deutsche Bank leads JP Morgan by barely a whisker at the top of the European investment banking league tables – with less than $1 million in fees separating the two banks.

European investment banking revenue for the year to December 18 totalled $20.8 billion, up 11% on 2013, according to data released by Dealogic yesterday. The total is already the highest since 2008, when banks made $22.7 billion in fees.