Morgan Stanley is set to lose its short-lived position at the top of European's mergers and acquisitions league tables after Citigroup controversially claimed last minute credit for a multi-billion euro deal in a move that will knock its rival off the top spot.

Preliminary figures released last night showed that Morgan Stanley had powered from second to first place in Europe after advising on 177 deals worth $482.1bn (€365.3bn). It was second last year.