Friday’s Headlines: Banks face off for the Facebook IPO in 2012

While this year may have been a dud in terms of IPOs, banks are getting cut-throat in their efforts to win rights to oversee the offering of social media giant Facebook, according to a Wall Street Journal article, which notes: “The deal will be one of the most hotly contested offerings of the decade, with hundreds of millions of dollars in potential fees and bragging rights on the line.”

The company could be valued at $100 billion or more, with fees for IPOs of that size averaging 2.2 percent. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are the frontrunners in the deal, but they face stiff competition for the role of lead manager. Goldman is the leader in Internet IPOs globally and in the U.S. for 2011; meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase’s advantage is its lead in the recent Zynga offering.

Other News:

A Société Générale venture in China will stay away from IPOs in that country. [Financial Times]

MetLife will sell most of its bank’s deposits to GE as it seeks to limit Fed oversight. [Bloomberg]

Wall Street dealers made it tougher for hedge funds to finance the trading of securities and derivatives in the three months through November. [Businessweek]

BofA’s market value dropped 59 percent in 2011. [Bloomberg]

JPMorgan Chase and Ally Financial were among the institutions sued by German lender HSH Nordbank for mortgage bond losses. [Bloomberg]

A unit of Commerce Bancshares will pay $18.3 million to settle consumer lawsuits alleging illegal overdraft fees. [Bloomberg]

Michael Lewis offers Wall Street tips for recruiting on Ivy League campuses. [Bloomberg]

What hedge funds can teach college students. [WSJ]

2011 marks the worst of eight years for dealmaking in Germany. [Businessweek]