European investment banks lagging behind. As opposed to their US counterparts, which have been able to benefit from the post-sub-prime context, European finance and investment banks (FIB) have struggled to recover from the crisis, according to an analysis carried out by Dealogic. According to data compiled by the research body, the performance by European banks as measured in the share of FIB income in the total worldwide, is at its lowest ever level, €8.5 billion (around 24%), where as in the United States, performance is at its highest level since 2002 (around 34%). The number of banks active in Europe has itself declined since last year by 17%, to 961 establishments, which is the lowest figure registered since 2003. In Europe, the fall in business activity continues to be prompted by what is happening in the bonds market (worth around €3.2 billion), followed by mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and syndicated loans. Moreover, it is the fall in mergers and acquisitions, strongly linked to growth, which has undermined the performance of European banking establishments. M&A operations in 2013 are at their lowest level since 1997 at €2.3 billion (26.7%). (IL/transl.fl)