JP Morgan has stormed past its rival US investment banks and topped the preliminary European mergers and acquisitions league tables, according to Dealogic, the financial data provider.

Traditionally JP Morgan has occupied a slot in the top 10, but the top spot has generally proved elusive. In the first half of 2002, however, the US bank worked on 82 deals totalling $79.2bn (€80.6bn) in value, which is 23 deals and almost $10bn ahead of Morgan Stanley in second place. JP Morgan was involved in three of the top 10 largest European M&A deals in the first six months.