A Virginia-based investment bank has beaten its bulge-bracket New York rivals to become top of the bookrunner league table for initial public offerings in the US so far this year.

Friedman Billings Ramsay, which specialises in advising mid-sized companies, has beaten larger rivals including Citigroup, Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman Sachs to the top spot in the bookrunner league table, according to Dealogic, the investment banking research firm.