European Investment Banking Fees Shrivel Amid Sovereign Crisis

Investment banking fees in Europe shrank to the lowest in six years in 2010 as companies aborted fundraisings and takeovers during the sovereign-debt crisis.

Income from arranging mergers, stock, bond and loan sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa dropped about 10 percent from 2009 to $21.9 billion, estimates by New York-based research firm Freeman & Co. show. Fees in Asia jumped 18 percent to $17.8 billion, narrowing the gap with Europe to the lowest since at least 1998. At that rate, revenue from Asia may surpass Europe in 2011, according to Freeman.