Barclays cemented its ranking as the top bank for syndicated debt issues by European sovereigns this week, as Spain opted to sell €7bn worth of debt via syndication – the more lucrative alternative for investment banks to government bond auctions.

The UK bank has led seven out of nine bond syndications from peripheral European governments so far this year, and 12 out of 15 in the eurozone as a whole. According to Dealogic, Barclays is ranked first for European sovereign benchmark syndications so far in 2013 - a position it has enjoyed in four of the last five years.