It seems that the fees earned by the world’s investment banks soared to record levels last year, fuelled by the high levels of activity in mergers and acquisitions.  The problem is that the tidy $84bn generated is more than wiped out by the stated losses in the sub-prime debt crisis, which currently amount to $130bn and rising.

Of course, the easy credit which led to the credit crunch also helped to create an M&A boom so it is unlikely that they will generate this level of fees in 2008.  Having said that, although the more traditional merger activity may cool, there may be rich pickings to be had advising those with cash, such as the Sovereign Wealth Funds, which seem set to go on a bit of a spending spree.