Linklaters and Allen & Overy share tier I lead.

The number of securitization deals grew by 14 percent in 2002. Banks continued to tap the markets for regulatory capital through innovative tier I deals. And even the 2.5 percent fall in global debt issuance was bearable compared with the near disappearance of primary market equity deals. Allen & Overy and Linklaters drew for first place in the tier I tables of 2003 bond survey, conducted by the periodical 'IFLR,' the first ranking of firms advising on Euromarket tier I debt. Both firms advised on nine deals in 2002. Allen & Overy extended the scope of tier I into new jurisdictions, with deals for Alpha Bank in Greece as well as carrying out the first deal for a German state bank, Landesbank of Schleswig-Holstein. INSET: Methodology.