Goldman Sachs is close to winning the top spot for the year on the LatAm M&A tables, according to Dealogic data. This marks an interesting turnaround for a bank that failed to even make the top 10 during the same period in 2010. Year to December 16, the US bank booked $27.02bn in volume from 30 transactions, ahead of Citi’s $24.86bn from 30 deals, BTG Pactual’s $22.49bn from 43 transactions, and Itau’s $22.43bn from 43 deals. Last year’s leader Credit Suisse has slipped to fifth, but nevertheless continues to lead in wallet, bringing in $99m in M&A fees and beating JPMorgan ($60m) and BTG Pactual ($45m). Credit Suisse also led in total investment banking fees, booking $213m in that space, ahead of JPMorgan’s $173m and Citi’s $151m. This year, the region has seen total M&A volumes of $153.23bn from 1,591 deals. That is less than the $245.62bn in volume generated last year, but higher than the 1,385 transactions closed in 2010. Global M&A volume hit $2.70trn in 2011, up slightly from 2010. That compares to $709.6bn for all of emerging markets and $524,1bn from Asia Pacific ex-Japan.