AstraZeneca, the UK pharmaceuticals company, has dropped Credit Suisse First Boston and Merrill Lynch as its joint corporate brokers and replaced them with Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs.

AstraZeneca is the first FTSE 100 client loss for Merrill Lynch since a six-strong broking team, led by Paul Baker, left to set up Morgan Stanley's UK broking operation in April. Morgan Stanley's entry into the market has been the main catalyst for the present shake-up in UK corporate broking. CSFB has lost four FTSE 100 broking clients in a month, while Deutsche Bank has won its second over the same period after being appointed broker to National Grid Transco, the UK utility.