The 'duopoly' of prime brokers in Europe - consisting of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW) and Goldman Sachs - is really only less than four years old. Although in the US, both banks have long been considered top-tier prime brokers, in Europe, MSDW was an early bird and seemed to have stolen a march on its competitors. Only four years after it started its London-based international prime brokerage operation, however, Goldman has zoomed from 10th place to number two. It now divides some 80% of the European prime broker market with MSDW.

Rob Munro, executive director of equities at Goldman Sachs International in London, believes that part of the reason that it has been so successful is that people can see that Goldman does not want to remain number two and is hungry to provide the best service.