Lazard, curently a lead adviser in the Air France merger, jumped eight places in the latest European mergers and acquisitions league tables, moving up from 10th to second place and snapping at the heels of top performer Goldman Sachs.

Lazard started its rankings climb in the Thomson Financial league table earlier this year but the results for the first nine months show the bank has made significant progress compared with the same period last year, when it was placed 10th.