Facebook doesn't need Wall Street friends

That was underlined after it emerged that the 31 banks advising Facebook will together pocket just 1.1pc of the total raised in the eagerly-awaited initial public offering (IPO). While fees of roughly $50m are nothing to sneer at for Wall Street, the reported overall fee shows that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg still holds the strongest cards in the countdown to an IPO that is expected in the early summer. The fee compares to an average charged on IPOs in the US last year of 5.5pc, according to Bloomberg. Although the cut banks receive is smaller on large IPOs, the 1.1pc Facebook fee is less than the percentage banks took from Visa's record-breaking $19.7bn float. Experts say banks will stomach a smaller cut this time because no one wants to be excluded from an IPO that is attracting a record amount of publicity. Analysts who will advise investors on whether to buy or sell Facebook shares attended a meeting on Monday at the company's headquarters to meet executives and be briefed on its operations. Mr Zuckerberg is said not to have attended. Facebook declined to comment.