That average fee levels on European M&A deals are at their highest level for six years is cold comfort to the banks that backed the losing horses in the Italian banking takeover saga.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, the Spanish bank, and ABN Amro of the Netherlands, last week conceded defeat to Italian rivals Unipol and Banca Popolare Italiana, formerly called Banca Popolari di Lodi, in their audacious attempts to take over Banca Nazionale del Lavoro and Banca Antonveneta respectively.