Investment banks reap bumper fees
INVESTMENT banks have reaped a massive $38.1bn (£23.8bn) in fees in the first six months of this year, 22 per cent up on the same period a year earlier, according to data provider Dealogic.
Debt market activity and equity market deals accounted for 28 per cent of total fee revenue taken by investment banks in the first half of this year, slightly down from the 30 per cent posted for both sectors over the same period a year earlier.
Deals done in the Americas accounted for 54 per cent of global investment banking fee revenue, pushing down the share of revenue secured from European and Asian deals.
US banking giant JP Morgan netted the highest fee earnings, taking $3.3bn in all markets for the period and securing an 8.7 per cent market share.
Wall Street rival Goldman Sachs handled the highest combined value of mergers and acquisitions deals, overseeing $368.8bn worth of transactions. It also topped the equity market ranking, handling $41.3bn worth of deals.
Only eight of the top 15 banks to make Dealogic’s list posted an increase in revenue from the second half of 2010. Bank of America Merrill Lynch posted the biggest increase in revenue, up 22 per cent to $3bn.