(by G.Finn)

U.S. bank Morgan Stanley, this year Europe’s IPOs leading underwriter, collected over $3.1 billion in fees (within the total amount of $73.6 billion) of initial stock sales.

Morgan Stanley possesses over 35 per cent of investment-banking revenue in IPOs and subsequent stock sales. Another U.S. bank, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., has more than 20 per cent.

Fees for stock sales dropped from 2.7 percent last year and 3.1 percent in 2000 to an average of 2.3 percent this year.