Rothschild's annual advisory income slips

PARIS, July 24 (Reuters) - Rothschild, the independent investment bank, has posted a fall in annual advisory income, showing that the 250-year-old banking group is not immune from a dealmaking slowdown due to the euro zone crisis and global economic downturn.

Annual advisory income stood at 768.1 million euros ($930.70 million) for the year ending in March, a drop of 9 percent, according to results posted by Rothschild holding company Paris Orleans. It said staff costs fell 4.5 percent and that it was targeting 25 million euros in annual savings from end-March 2013 at its core investment-bank division.

Rothschild's primary focus on corporate finance and M&A advice has helped the group avoid many of the problems faced by its bigger rivals in investment banking, which are having to cut costs and jobs.

Rothschild enjoys a top-three M&A ranking in the core euro zone countries of France and Germany in the year to date. On a worldwide basis, Rothschild holds an 11th-place ranking in terms of deal value and is ranked number 10 by imputed fees, according to estimates from Thomson Reuters/Freeman Consulting.

The bank's belt-tightening is a sign that even the most established names in finance are having to adapt to tougher global financial regulation and euro-zone turmoil.

Rothschild is also restructuring by fully merging its operations in France and Britain to bolster its finances.

Asked whether the bank might cut jobs, a spokesman declined to comment.

($1 = 0.8253 euros) (Editing by Jane Merriman)