Mergers and acquisitions bankers earned more in fees than their capital market counterparts during the first quarter, as M&A reclaimed its place as the main revenue generator for investment banks after a sluggish 2009.

M&A work accounted for 31.7% of the total investment banking fee pool, followed by debt capital markets with 31.4% and equity capital markets with 28%, according to preliminary data for the first three months of the year from Thomson Reuters and Freeman Consulting.