UBS has topped the league of financial advisers to mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in Asia-Pacific in 2007, according to figures released by data provider Mergermarket, with a total of 58 deals worth $85.5 billion.

UBS had ranked third in the list of advisers last year. However, the Swiss investment bank has just a $5bn lead over Asia-Pacific firm Macquarie Group, which is the most active firm in the region, topping the table by volume with 74 deals. Macquarie is also the most active adviser to Asia-Pacific private equity, while UBS and European rival Deutsche Bank are nearly neck and neck in the value table.

Domestic firms Nomura and Macquarie Group are the clear favourites in Japan and Australasia, topping both the value and volume tables in their respective regions.

Asia-Pacific has had a strong year, recording $411.9bn worth of deals for 2007. The region’s deal values are up 15.6% from last year, while the volume of deals has also increased by 9.2%. Asian deal activity has remained fairly consistent throughout the year, and looks set to increase, suggesting that the region is not suffering from the effects of the credit crunch to the same extent as both Europe and North America.

On a global level, the global M&A league tables saw the same three banks, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, retain their top positions, respectively. More dramatic was the emergence of the major investment banks at the top of the global M&A league tables by volume, a table that has in the past been dominated by the corporate finance arms of the major accountancy firms, Mergermarket said in a press note. Citigroup managed to squeeze out the top slot by advising on 386 deals, just three more than Goldman Sachs.

The determining factor here for Citigroup was its ability to outshine Goldman Sachs in Asia, a region of the world where Goldman Sachs’ status as the dominant player in the US and EU M&A industry has not been established, Mergermarket said.