Goldman Sachs has retained its position as the top investment bank in Europe according to rankings compiled by Financial News, despite a strong challenge from its arch rival Morgan Stanley. The two firms form their own super-bulge bracket in Europe in terms of market share across mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity capital markets.

Merrill Lynch climbed into third place and Deutsche Bank, which was third in 2003 and top the year before, fell to seventh after it dropped out of the top 10 in the European M&A rankings.