JP Morgan will stretch its slender lead as the top equity capital markets adviser in the US after turning to investors for $5bn (€3.5bn) of fresh capital to meet the government’s conditions for the repayment of state aid.

The US bank said in a statement yesterday that that it intends to raise common equity to satisfy regulators that it can successfully access the equity capital markets - a condition for redeeming the Troubled Asset Relief Program investment of $25bn from the US government.