The last stronghold of European banking has fallen to the Americans: since the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak in March, European banks’ share of investment banking fees on their home turf has slipped below 50%.

It’s the first time domestic lenders have failed to command the lion's share of investment banking business — M&A, equity and debt capital markets advice — in the region. And although providing advice is not a huge revenue driver for banks, the slippage of European banks is symptomatic of a wider retreat much to the benefit of rampant US rivals.