Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank have continued their long-running duel at the top of the debt capital market bookrunner league table, with just $500m (€374.8m) separating the two firms in the rankings for the first quarter, as issuance gets off to a strong start in 2010.

Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank were ranked first and second respectively in the global DCM league tables for the first quarter, according to data provider Dealogic.