Morgan Stanley The Leader in New England

In the New England area, Morgan Stanley & Co. led all advisers with two deals for a total of $5.69 billion.

Two big deals accounted for the majority of bank advisory work in the region - Shawmut's $3.6 billion sale to Fleet Financial Group and BayBanks' $2.06 billion sale to the Bank of Boston. The region includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Morgan Stanley headed the charts for its role as adviser to the sellers on the two New England marquee deals.

Salomon Brothers Inc. ranked second for its work with Fleet.

Merrill Lynch & Co. took the third spot, advising the Bank of Boston on its purchase of both Baybanks and Boston Bancorp.

Goldman Sachs & Co. and Smith Barney Inc. tied for fourth, advising on the deal between Citizens Financial and the Bank of Ireland, which the banks have valued at $613 million.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods placed sixth, with five deals - the highest number among the top 10 advisers - for a total of $257 million.

Schroder Wertheim and Tucker Anthony Inc. tied for seventh for their work on the Bank of Boston's purchase of Boston Bancorp.

Schroder joined Merrill Lynch in advising the Bank of Boston, while Tucker Anthony Inc. advised Boston Bancorp.

M.A. Schapiro ranked ninth, with two deals totaling $206.2 million.

Schapiro advised People's Heritage Financial Corp. in its $170.7 million purchase of Bank of New Hampshire Corp. Keefe advised the seller.

To close out the top 10, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. advised Putnam Trust Co. in its $139.8 million sale to Bank of New York Co.