As 2010 was closing, we speculated about how investment banking loomed as a critical driver of revenue growth in 2011.

It seemed conditions were ripe for investment banks to reassert themselves as contributors to revenue growth, while many expected the contribution from trading to sag. But it didn't quite turn out that way. The ripe deal advisory conditions soured a bit as the year went on. While trading also suffered, the relative contributions to earnings from each group were not altered significantly.

Bloomberg reports that at Goldman Sachs, for example, fees from trading still accounts for 62 percent of revenue. That said, most people are still sanguine about the deal advisory environment. Once the European situation clears a bit and the economic expansion gathers steam, companies will likely pull the trigger on deals across the board, putting their historically high cash levels to strategic work.

So perhaps it is best to interpret 2011 as a time of jockeying for the position for a big pick-up in 2012. In that context, Goldman Sachs seems to have fared well. After two years of finishing second to Morgan Stanley in the global league tables (as compiled by Bloomberg), it has reclaimed the top spot for 2011, followed by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Barclays.

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