It is one of bankers’ perennial complaints that league tables are inaccurate, unless, of course, they rank at the top.

But the trend towards an enlarged number of advisers on mergers and acquisitions, and the increased prevalence of fairness opinions in Europe, is adding fuel to European M&A bankers' complaints. Few areas in investment banking are witness to the level of competition over deal credit as M&A, with banks rushing to notify data providers of the roles they have played on various transactions.