Citigroup Inc was in 2004 Wall Street's busiest stock and bond underwriter for the fifth year in a row, amid the welcome resurgence in investor demand for equities and surprisingly strong sentiment for bonds. Data released on Friday by Thomson Financial also show that reported banking fees rose 7 percent, fuelled by growth in high-fee stock and initial public offerings as US stocks posted a second year of double-digit percentage gains.

"Wall Street continued to meet the almost insatiable demand for capital," said Richard Peterson, Thomson's chief market strategist, in an interview.

World-wide stock and bond underwriting totalled $5.69 trillion, up 6 percent from a year earlier, and reported fees totalled $15.4 billion, Thomson data show.

For the year, Citigroup handled $534.5 billion of transactions, a 9.4 percent market share, followed by Morgan Stanley's $413.6 billion and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co's $385.8 billion.

The banks had the same rankings in 2003, as did most top underwriters, even as Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and other commercial banks used their lending power to win business from traditional investment banks. "A rising tide lifts all ships, so the beneficiaries are widespread," Peterson said.

Some rankings did change. Morgan Stanley ended Goldman Sachs & Co's nine-year run as the top equity underwriter, while Citigroup ended Credit Suisse First Boston's 11-year run as the top junk bond underwriter.

Citigroup reported $1.72 billion of fees for the year, an 11.2 percent share, followed by Morgan Stanley and Goldman. The latter rose from fourth a year earlier, while J.P. Morgan, which had been third in 2003, fell to fifth, behind Merrill Lynch & Co.

Wall Street uses Thomson's widely followed underwriting "league tables" as a marketing tool.

Copyright Reuters, 2005