What price a top slot on an investment-bank league table? When Hewlett-Packard announced its $11.1bn acquisition of UK software provider Autonomy last year, it boasted no fewer than six banks as advisers. Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners was lead adviser; it was joined by UBS, the company's corporate broker; Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Citigroup; Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase.

But with H-P now alleging that it was misled by Autonomy, some of these banks are eager to distance themselves from the deal, claiming they were only brought in late in the process. One bank said it received its letter of engagement from Autonomy on the day the deal was announced. So what did these banks do in return for their fees and the right to allow their name to be associated with such a high-profile transaction?