Banks make most of DCM, ECM surge

摘要

The big five US investment banks reported all-time high or near-record revenues across their investment banks last quarter, setting them up for one of their best years ever even if activity slows sharply in the second half as they have warned. The five banks brought in US$42bn in revenues from trading and underwriting in the second quarter. Fixed income, currencies and commodities trading revenue was US$23.4bn, up 95% from a year ago and 92% higher than the average over the previous nine quarters (see chart). Equities trading revenues jumped 27% to US$9.9bn. And underwriting activity was stunning too, with revenues across the banks up 68% year-on-year to a record US$9.2bn (see Top News story).