Extel Survey

Overview

Large, global banks dominated the 46th annual Extel ranking of European brokers, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch leading the pack as this year’s best overall broker.

The American multinational firm also placed second among emerging Europe brokers and third in the developed Europe category. It was voted the No. 2 firm in both sector research and overall research, and ranked as the top provider of equity execution – among other accolades.

Other winners in this year’s survey included UBS — ranked the best overall research firm — and JPMorgan Chase & Co., voted the top equity sales firm.

Outside of the bulge-bracket banks, high-ranking firms in this year’s Extel survey included European brokers Exane BNP Paribas, HSBC, and Kepler Cheuvreux.

Exane BNP Paribas, last year’s best-overall broker, placed third in that category this year but picked up a No. 1 finish in the developed Europe category. The Paris-based firm also placed first in sector research, while slipping to third place in overall research.

HSBC, meanwhile, was voted the best emerging Europe broker, while Kepler Cheuvreux took first place in the overall execution, overall sales, and corporate access categories.