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| Best M&A house: Goldman Sachs |
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| Also shortlisted: Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank |
Mergers and acquisitions activity was subdued in the past 12 months. "Even though in recent months equity investors have started to reward companies for launching bids and even rewarded acquirers preemptively for synergies they promise to extract, there is still an overall mood of caution," says Gene Sykes, co-head of global mergers and acquisitions at Goldman Sachs. "The rise of regulatory activism and shareholder activism have made deals harder to complete and, on top of the macro uncertainties, that has added to managements’ and boards’ risk aversion."
In such unpromising circumstances, Goldman Sachs has reminded the markets of the strength of its M&A franchise, notwithstanding the welter of adverse publicity the firm received in the wake of the SEC’s charges back in 2010. A competitor says: "Goldman is the one firm that has really maintained its strength. While some of the Europeans have lost market share and large US universal banks trod water and did not improve, Goldman has the M&A franchise every other firm is striving to build."