CIB Review 4Q21/FY21

Capital Markets: Overview The 14 banks in this report generated $50bn of revenue in 4Q21, lifting the 2021 total to $233bn, 8% up y/y. All three business areas registered a slowdown in 4Q21 compared to the first nine months of the year, but only FICC suffered a sharp drop, due to G10 rates, securitisation and credit. […]

CIB Review 2Q21/6m21

Capital Markets: Overview Investment banks in this report generated revenue of $127bn in 1H21, 6% ahead of 1H20. Operating costs grew 12% y/y: US banks’ continued spend/investment – including performance-related comp accruals – contributed to a 4% dip in pre-tax profits. European banks, by contrast, increased profits, but that was partly due to the non-recurrence […]

CIB Review 1Q21

Capital Markets: Overview For most banks in this report, 1Q21 was a quarter of multi-year records. The combined capital markets revenue exceeded $70bn, 34% ahead of 1Q20 driven, in particular, by ECM, DCM loans and equity derivatives. Costs also jumped, but by comparatively modest 22%, and with wide difference between US and European banks: in […]

CIB Review 4Q20/FY20

Capital Markets: Overview The exceptional year ended on a high note: banks featured here reported capital markets revenue of $49bn in 4Q20, 24% ahead of 4Q19. On FY basis, revenue jumped 30% – primarily driven by US banks’ Markets divisions, and FICC in particular – and per-FTE productivity by 26%.  Aggregate costs also grew in […]

Sector: Wholesale Banking Review 3Q20/9m20

Capital Markets Extending extraordinary gains from 1H20, the combined capital markets revenue of 15 banks in this note reached $51bn in 3Q20, lifting the 9m20 total to $172bn, 30% ahead of 9m19 – and easily beating conservative expectations outlined by some banks at the end of 2Q20. Revenue/FTE surged 55% y/y. FICC remains the star performer: up […]

Sector: Wholesale Banking Review 2Q20/6m20

Capital Markets Accelerating extraordinary gains seen in 1Q20, the 15 banks in this report surged capital markets revenue by 35% y/y in 2Q20 to $66bn, with FICC contributing the lion’s share of gains. Costs were tightly controlled, however, leading to a 57% jump in overall pre-tax profits (EMEA banks almost doubled their aggregate profit). Banks […]

Sector: Wholesale Banking Review 1Q20

Capital Markets: Overview In an extraordinary quarter, the 15 banks’ capital markets revenue surged 20% y/y, to $54bn. Operating costs grew at just 4%, however, reflecting an uncertain outlook. In the meantime, the aggregate pre-tax profit from FICC more than doubled, led by EMEA banks; in Equities, US banks led the way, as European leaders […]

Sector: Wholesale Banking Review 4Q19/FY19

Capital Markets: Overview The 15 banks in this report generated $172bn revenue in 2019, in-line with the previous year. The costs were firmly under control, resulting in pre-tax profit 3% down y/y, mostly on account of US banks’ modest decline in profits. Before the arrival of Coronavirus in late Feb-20, sales and trading was thriving, […]

Sector: Wholesale Banking Review 3Q19/9m19

Capital Markets: Summary The banks in this report generated $138bn revenue in 9m19, slightly below 9m18 as Banking, FICC and Equities all declined; only dedicated prop & PI posted modest growth. However, most banks also kept costs under control; the aggregate 9m19/9m18 pre-tax profit declined by a relatively modest 6%. The US banks’ held up […]

Sector: Wholesale Banking Review 2Q19/6m19

Capital Markets: Summary The aggregate 6m19 operating revenue of banks in this report totalled $96bn, 8% below 6m18 mostly due to weak Equities revenue – and pre-tax profit dropped 14%. US banks outperformed their EMEA peers across the board, except in FICC profitability, which benefitted from cost-cutting. The final version of the Volcker Rule – […]