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By Anjuli Davies
LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Investment banking fees earned inEurope, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) account for just 24percent of the global total so far this year, the lowestyear-to-date share since records began in 2000, Thomson Reutersdata shows.
Fees for services ranging from merger and acquisitions (M&A)advisory services to capital markets underwriting in EMEA total$18 billion so far in 2016, down 12 percent year-on-year.
At its zenith in 2008, the EMEA fee pool accounted for 37percent of global investment banking fees earned, the datashows.
Britain's vote to leave the European Union in June and theensuing uncertainty, a looming referendum on constitutionalreform in Italy as well as a prolonged period of anaemic growthacross Europe have put companies off pulling the trigger onlarge scale M&A deals, a big fee earner for banks.
European M&A activity totals $554 billion so far this year,down 30 percent on the same period in 2015, with M&A in Britaindown 69 percent, lagging a 19 percent fall in worldwideactivity, according to the data.
Britain is the third-highest fee paying country so far thisyear, accounting for 6 percent of the global fee pool, behindthe United States and China with 45 percent and 12 percentrespectively.
European equity capital markets activity is also down 36percent to total $133 billion, lagging a worldwide drop of 26percent, while debt capital markets activity is broadly flat inEurope but up 15 percent worldwide.
Global investment banking fees are down 11 percent so farthis year compared with 2015, totalling $74 billion, with feesfrom the Americas falling 17 percent to $38 billion accountingfor 52 percent of the global total, a 5-year low.
Fees in Asia, however, are up 5 percent this year to $17.3billion, the highest year-to-date total since Thomson Reutersrecords began in 2000, and now account for 23 percent of theglobal feel pool, up from a low of 10 percent in 2001.
U.S. banks are in the top five positions in the globalinvestment banking fee rankings with a 28.6 percent share, downfrom a high of 44.3 percent in 2001.
(Reporting by Anjuli Davies; Editing by Mark Potter)
