The results suggest that corporate America has regained confidence after two years of subdued mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity and a prolonged drought in initial public offerings (IPOs).

Companies returned to debt and equity markets during the quarter, while volatile financial markets generated strong client activity that boosted trading desks across Wall Street.

Collectively, the five banking giants earned close to USD 49 billion in quarterly profit, highlighting the strength of the industry’s recovery and providing a positive signal for the broader American economy.

Breaking down the numbers
JPMorgan Chase once again led the pack, reporting net income of USD 21.2 billion, or USD 16.9 billion excluding one-off items, on revenue of USD 57.4 billion. Investment banking fees jumped 45%, while equities trading revenue surged 86%, helping the bank post another record-breaking quarter.

A wave of big-ticket IPOs and dealmaking made the venture the highest gainer among the American banks. The investment banking division, now run by recently promoted executive Doug Petno, rode a sharp rebound in the American IPO market, led by the blockbuster market debut of Elon Musk’s SpaceX. JPMorgan was among the lead underwriters on the deal.

The ⁠bank has raised its forecast for 2026 expenses to USD 107.5 billion from USD 105 billion on the back of higher volume and revenue-related expenses. JPMorgan’s market value currently stands at more than USD 920 billion, very close to Wall Street’s elite trillion-dollar club.

One of the major talking points from JPMorgan’s earning report was the 30% yearly jump in its investment banking fees. The bank was part of several landmark transactions during Q2, including as co-adviser on NextEra Energy’s USD 67 billion merger with Dominion Energy, apart from being the lead active bookrunner on Alphabet’s USD 85 billion equity offering.

JPMorgan gained massively from the positive momentum seen in the global M&A activities, whose value, so far in 2026, has gone beyond USD 3 trillion, as per the Dealogic data. The bank’s equity trading revenue surged 86%, while fixed-income trading revenue increased 6%.

Bank of America also exceeded market expectations, reporting quarterly profit of USD 9.1 billion, up 27% from a year earlier, on revenue of USD 31.6 billion. The bank benefited from resilient consumer spending, higher investment banking fees, and solid trading income as clients remained active in financial markets.

The venture’s Q2 sales and trading revenue jumped 33% to a record USD 7.1 billion from USD 5.3 billion a year earlier, outpacing CEO Brian Moynihan’s expectations of a 15% rise. Equities revenue climbed 70% to USD 3.6 billion.

The bank reported a net income of USD 9.1 billion, or USD 1.21 per share, in the three months ended June 30, compared with USD 7.2 billion, or 90 cents per share, a year earlier. Shares of the bank, with about an 8% gain so far in 2026, have outperformed peers JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.

Just like JPMorgan, an upbeat global M&A ended up benefiting Bank of America as well. Its securities division acted as a joint book-running manager for the SpaceX IPO. Along with JPMorgan, the venture was also the financial advisor for NextEra Energy’s USD 66.8 billion deal to buy Dominion Energy. BofA’s total investment banking fees jumped 50% to USD 2.1 billion in the second quarter.

The bank’s net interest income (NII), the difference between what it earns on loans and pays out on deposits, rose 9% ⁠to USD 16 billion in the quarter from a year earlier. Average loans and leases rose 8% as well.

CFO Alastair Borthwick said that the positive forecast for full-year NII growth was supported by anticipated loan and deposit growth, fixed-rate asset repricing, and balance sheet optimization.

Citigroup delivered one of the strongest percentage increases among its peers. Quarterly profit rose 45% to USD 5.8 billion on revenue of USD 24.8 billion, driven by its strongest investment banking performance in several years and robust trading revenues.

Goldman Sachs, whose business is more heavily dependent on Wall Street activity than consumer banking, enjoyed one of the biggest earnings rebounds of the quarter.

Net income climbed 78% to USD 6.6 billion as a resurgence in M&A advisory work, equity underwriting, and market volatility fueled a sharp increase in investment banking and trading income.

Wells Fargo, traditionally more reliant on commercial and retail banking, also reported better-than-expected results. The bank posted a quarterly profit of USD 6.4 billion on revenue of USD 22.6 billion, with stronger commercial banking performance, improving credit quality, and higher fee income offsetting pressure on net interest income.

Analyzing things
After two years during which higher interest rates made net interest income the primary earnings driver, investment banking has once again taken center stage.

The recovery reflects a marked improvement in corporate confidence. Businesses that delayed acquisitions, public listings, and debt issuance during periods of economic uncertainty are returning to capital markets as financing conditions improve and expectations grow that the US Federal Reserve could begin easing monetary policy over the coming year.

At the same time, heightened volatility across equity, bond, and currency markets generated increased client activity, providing a significant boost to trading operations.

For Wall Street’s largest banks, this shift is important because it broadens earnings beyond traditional lending. While loan growth remains modest and deposit competition continues to pressure margins, stronger fee income from advisory work, underwriting, and trading offers a more diversified and sustainable source of profitability.

Another encouraging takeaway from the earnings was the resilience of the US consumer. Despite elevated borrowing costs and persistent inflation, household spending has remained healthy, and banks have not reported a significant deterioration in credit quality. Loan losses remain broadly contained, suggesting consumers continue to manage higher interest rates better than many economists had anticipated.

Technology companies are rushing to fund AI infrastructure, a trend that will further boost dealmaking and financing activities for Wall Street, generating lucrative fees ‌from capital raising and loans.

Goldman, which has already benefitted from its status of being the lead left underwriter on the SpaceX IPO, is all set to play a major role alongside Morgan Stanley in the upcoming listing of Anthropic. Citigroup, on the other hand, as a joint global co-ordinator on the SK Hynix sale, earned over USD 70 million from the deal.

BofA, since 2025, has helped raise nearly USD 500 billion for AI-related companies, accounting for 60% of such fundraising across investment-grade debt, while leveraging finance and equity capital markets.

Meta Platforms is working with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase on a roughly USD 13 billion financing ⁠package for a data center in El Paso, Texas. As per JPMorgan’s Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum, the firm is seeing decent capital expenditure and loan demand from companies that may not be AI-related but have an indirect ⁠link.

Still, caution remains
Nevertheless, bank executives struck a cautious tone about the second half of the year. Uncertainty surrounding US trade policy, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Europe, and the trajectory of inflation could all influence corporate activity and financial markets in the months ahead. A slower pace of interest-rate cuts than currently anticipated could also affect borrowing demand and capital market activity.

Investors, meanwhile, responded cautiously despite the strong results. Analysts noted that many of the positive earnings drivers had already been priced into bank shares, while rising operating expenses and lofty valuations tempered enthusiasm. Even so, the first batch of earnings has delivered a strong opening to the reporting season.

Rather than relying solely on the benefits of higher interest rates, America’s biggest lenders are once again generating growth from the businesses that traditionally define Wall Street—advising companies on mergers, underwriting stock offerings, and helping investors navigate increasingly active financial markets.

Because the country’s largest banks sit at the center of corporate finance, consumer lending, and capital markets, their performance is widely regarded as an early indicator of economic momentum. Strong earnings across all five institutions suggest businesses are investing again, consumers remain willing to spend, and financial markets are regaining confidence.

If those trends continue through the second half of the year, Wall Street’s biggest banks may have done more than deliver impressive quarterly results – they may have provided the clearest indication yet that corporate America is entering a new phase of recovery, with investment banking, rather than interest rates, leading the way.

The post IF Insights: Wall Street’s investment banking rebounds on strong Q2 earnings appeared first on International Finance.

We’ve listed the top five talents an investment banker requires and areas of study that can help them learn them.

Smarts

Investment bankers assist companies in merging, acquiring, going public, or creating business plans.

This is certainly the most noticeable trait. A strong mind with an emphasis on analytics, mathematics, finances, and economics helps with various employment needs.

However, it goes beyond these key competencies. Investment banking needs intellectual curiosity to grasp how a colleague’s work or other elements fit into the broader jigsaw as well as your own.

Investment bankers enjoy solving challenging issues and innovating. Mathematics, and science, such as physics, economics, engineering, and finance/accounting, as well as post-graduate certificate programs like Chartered Financial Analyst, drive intellectual skills and curiosity.

Discipline

Investment bankers earn substantial incomes, but few articles mention the long hours, hard effort, diligence, and self-discipline required to get them.

From entry-level analysts to managing directors, investment bankers work in a pressure cooker and must adjust to rigorous scrutiny and demands.

Some of these traits are intrinsic, but others can be learned through life experiences like graduating from law or medical school or playing on a collegiate sports team.

Creativity

Despite the rigour and structure of investment banking, creativity and innovation are highly valued. Top bankers can innovate products and services by uniquely approaching a job or issue.

Academics may encourage an instinctual trait that makes people see situations differently. Entrepreneurial business, scientific, and social science studies at university can foster innovation.

Acceptance

The globe is more connected, and business is too. Broad-mindedness and a deeper understanding of culture and society enable international commercial collaboration.

That knowledge and comprehension plus multilingualism are sought-after skills in investment banking.

Sociology and anthropology scholars with advanced language abilities like German or Mandarin are sought. Study abroad programs improve these talents.

Relationship Skills

As investment bankers advance, this final talent may be the most intangible but crucial.

Bankers must be able to handle difficult people in extreme situations, have high energy and a positive attitude that exudes power but also an “I understand your needs” attitude, and build and maintain client relationships. Investment banks profit from client fees. Thus, good interpersonal skills help attract and retain clients.

Many of the skills and personality traits needed for investment banking can be taught at universities, but some are intangible or innate.

In addition to these taught and inherent skills, investment banking requires someone who wants to learn and perform at the highest level in a tough setting.

The post Top five skills an investment banker needs appeared first on International Finance.

2021, in particular, has been a transformational year for NI Capital. We persevered during 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted businesses, but we used the downtime to effectively prepare for the inevitable rebound. We kick-started 2021 by completing the acquisition of Arabeya Online Brokerage (AOLB), a leading retail brokerage company during the first week of the year to become the distribution arm of NI Capital. The trading volume at AOLB has doubled since the acquisition, and its market share went up by almost 70%. It has since moved up one notch on the league tables to become the 8th largest brokerage company in Egypt by the end of the year.

By the second week, we launched our first money market fund “Siula” which was 21 times oversubscribed at the time we closed its IPO in the middle of February, raising about EGP 1.08 billion Egyptian pounds, the largest amount raised for a money market fund public offering in 2021. Net subscriptions to “Siula” which was the first money market fund to be issued and managed by an investment bank in Egypt exceeded EGP4.6 billion by the end of the year. Siula invests in liquid and short-term financial debt instruments, including Government and corporate bonds, T-bills, banking deposits, certificates of deposits and other low-risk highly liquid instruments. We are proud to say that our total AUMs have grown during 2021 from around EGP1.0 billion to north of EGP5.5 billion.

On the equity capital markets front, NI Capital acted as the sole financial advisor for “efinance for digital and financial investments”, the leading national developer of digital payments infrastructure, on its EGP 5.8 billion ($367 million) IPO that was 10 times oversubscribed. It is worth mentioning here that eFinance’s IPO was the largest ever in local currency on the Cairo Stock Exchange and has added more than EGP32 billion to the aggregate market capitalization of the Cairo Stock Exchange by the end of 2021. On its first trading day, eFinance share price soared over 40 percent, but has since then readjusted to around 10 percent premium over the IPO price. It has not dipped below the IPO price so far…

NI Capital also acted as the sole financial advisor for select shareholders of Abu Qir Fertilizers on the accelerated sale of 10 percent of the total outstanding shares of the company at a value of EGP2.25 billion. The two transactions raised a combined $507 million during the fourth quarter of 2021. Demand was well diversified among investors from Egypt, the Gulf, Europe, the US, and South Africa and two-thirds of the allocations were made to international investors.

On the private equity side, our flagship investment in the non-banking financial sector, Tamweely for microfinance, continued its impressive expansion opening more than 100 branches by end of 2021 and growing its net income by almost 80 percent. It has extended loans worth more than EGP 1.2 billion ($76 million) to 9,718 clients during the first nine months of 2021, with almost 42 percent of the total loan portfolio dedicated to women, and the primary focus of the company is directed towards rural areas in Egypt. Since its establishment in 2017, Tamweely has extended microfinance loans worth approximately $221 million to more than 215,000 Egyptian citizens, which created an estimated 215,735 direct and indirect jobs.

As it relates to our agency private equity management services, Ayady has signed a partnership agreement to invest in Film Clinic Holding – a leading media production and distribution company in a transaction valued at about $4.8 million. NI Capital manages the private equity investment portfolio for Ayady.

Such achievements along with NI Capital’s successful track record resulted in the company earning two awards at this year’s International Finance Magazine Awards for 2021; “Fastest Growing Investment Bank in Egypt” for the third year in the row, in addition to “Siula” being awarded the “Fastest Growing Money Market Fund”.

A Look into the Future
NI Capital has been on a growth trajectory for the last few years despite the challenges we all faced as a result of the business limitations set by the Covid-19 pandemic. We expect to continue our business development focusing on the introduction of new products and enhancing our services to clients.

On the asset management front, NI Capital will continue to launch new funds to cater to the unsatisfied demand that has been identified for some investment products in the domestic market, while simultaneously growing our portfolio money management services for institutions and high net worth individuals targeting 25 percent growth in 2022.

On the private equity side, we will also continue to expand our investments into non-banking financial services as we are currently on the verge of establishing a new consumer finance company to complement our product offering in this sector.

On the distribution side, NI Capital will continue to expand its Arabeya online brokerage institutional and retail services and will invest in upgrading its existing digital platforms. NI Capital has also established an independent distribution arm jointly with Egypt Post to deliver various fund investment products to the Post Office customers in particular, and to reach out to the retail public in geographic areas that have not been traditionally covered by brokerage firms starting 2022.

The post NI Capital: Ascension in Progress appeared first on International Finance.

Fees during the third quarter of 2021 amounted to $35.3 billion, which was 12 percent lower when compared to the second quarter of this year.

The Refinitiv report said, “The Americas contributed 53 percent of all fees generated globally with $61.7 billion, a 28 percent uptick compared to 2020 levels and the highest percentage since 2013. Imputed fees in the EMEA region increased 22 percent to $26 billion during the first nine months of 2021, driven by year-over-year gains in the UK and France. Powered by a 4 percent increase in North Asia, total investment banking fees in Asia-Pacific and Japan hit $28.1 billion with a 7 percent uptick compared to 2020.

Equity capital markets underwriting fees amounted to a record $30.1 billion during the first nine months of 2021, a 36 percent increase compared to 2020 levels, powered by record IPO issuance during the period.

Fees from global financials-related activity led all other sectors to $36.3 billion, up 38 percent compared to a year ago and accounting for 31 percent of all fees globally.

Similarly, fees collected from the technology sector totaled $12.4 billion, an increase of 46 percent compared to a year ago while industrials fees totaled $11.4 billion, up 8 percent.

The post Global investment banking fee rises by 21% to reach $115.8 bn in nine months appeared first on International Finance.

The bank has reportedly signed a deal with Amazon Web Services for its cloud requirements and 10x Future Technologies for its digital infrastructure. In recent years, the number of digital banks in the country have significantly increased. With that, JP Morgan’s proposed challenger bank will face significant competition from new and existing digital banks in the country. 

Previously, Goldman Sachs had launched Marcus in the UK and now comprises more than 500,000 customers. In June, it closed its saving account for new customers after a surge in deposits during the coronavirus pandemic, media reports said. 

More recently, JP Morgan set aside $10.5 billion of reserves to cover an increase of loan defaults as a result of the pandemic. The bank reported a 51 percent drop in profit for the second quarter. The bank is coping with the protracted coronavirus pandemic in the best way possible. It is one of the big four US lenders. 

The post JP Morgan seeks to launch its first digital bank in 2021 appeared first on International Finance.

In essence, retail investors do not have fair access to primary capital market transactions that underpin corporate strategy and growth. To date, institutional investors have been facing monopoly when it comes to investing in those listed companies’ fundraises which often take place at a discount to market price.

On a rare occasion, it appears that retail investors get access to a new share issuance, and get nothing when there is a good deal to be had. Statistically, 40 percent of the market is being owned by a group of retail investors, but institutions are getting a much better deal when purchasing newly issued primary shares.

Retail investors are significant to investment market
In Europe, there are 57 million individuals actively investing in equities. Retail investors represent a significant proportion of the investment market. Last November, a study found that 82 percent of AIM stocks and 75 percent of main market stocks had an average trade size below £10,000. However, individuals on average represent 25 percent of the shareholder register on AIM, a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange.

That said, individual investors accounted for 7 percent of FTSE 100 ownership and 17 percent of the main market stock in June 2019. New research from the Economist Intell unit shows European households today own 15.6 percent of listed shares across the EU, up from 12.7 percent in 2007.

These figures clearly indicate that it makes no sense for retail investors to be excluded from the best deals offered by those institutions. Retail investors are responsible for the strong growth in individual equity ownership following the 2008 financial crisis—and yet, are overlooked during the capital formation process.

Listed companies may not realise the impact of this monopoly and the fact that they are missing out on potential liquidity. Retail investors could hold between 20 percent to 30 percent of their share register but because small stocks held by a few institutions tend to trade only by appointment, this opportunity can be missed.

So the big question is—what can be done to level the playing field for retail investors and listed companies to mutually benefit?

This is where fintechs come into play. They are democratising the financial system across a number of streams. Since the financial crisis in 2008, it was recognised that savers and individual investors need more power and better access in regard to where their money was invested.

Crowdfunding—key to democratising investments
In terms of democratising investment into companies, the first mover was the crowdfunding industry. This worked as it broke the vicious cycle of a company being refused funding owing to lack of proof of concept—but they had no proof of concept because of lack of funding to help them reach that point. With crowdfunding, the investment opportunities are taken directly to the crowd allowing startups to be able to reach their potential customer base, build a brand and establish product loyalty.

This in turn gives customers a feeling of control and removes any concerns related to their money. Initially crowdfunding started as a reward based investment, but it has evolved into an equity based investment. This was an excellent first step in the democratisation of investing. While its value is still in place it has highlighted certain unsophisticated elements of this form of investing and the lack of services out there that gave retail investors access to the public markets.

The public markets come with a number of benefits to both the company and investor that most crowdfunding platforms do not offer. Due diligence is one such benefit. Crowdfunding platforms rarely have resources to carry out extensive levels of due diligence, but companies must go through extensive checks prior to listing on the stock market. This is not the case in most crowdfunding events.

Furthermore, investors focused on crowdfunded companies are reliant on the discretion of the board to pay dividends to see any kind of return: Companies involved in crowdfunding very rarely go public and thus liquidity is hard to come by. In short, crowdfunding is not a sophisticated enough platform to bring quality investment opportunities to retail investors.

Corporations are beginning to recognise the need for democratisation of equity markets which go beyond crowdfunding. They see that retail investors bring important benefits by driving strategic objectives when raising capital for listed companies.

The post Monopoly in investment banking appeared first on International Finance.

The acquisition will allow Morgan Stanley to tap into Etrade’s 5.2 million retail investors, media reports said. The bank’s latest move is aimed at diversifying its revenue stream. Etrade acquisition will encourage Morgan Stanley to improve efficiency in money, savings and asset management of small investors. 

Under the terms of the deal, Morgan Stanley will pay Etrade $58.74 a share in stock, and the agreement combines client assets worth nearly $3.1 trillion, media reports said. However, the transaction is subject to regulatory approval. The bank’s executives are confident that the deal would receive regulatory approval. 

Devin Ryan, JMP Securities managing director of equity research, told the media, “There’s a longer-term strategic play here around the digital opportunity and acquiring new corporate service customers and getting a higher percentage of their wallet over time. Etrade has nearly 2 million corporate stock plan customers and so this strategically widens the potential opportunity for Morgan Stanley to convert those customers.” 

Morgan Stanley will face a $525 million termination fee if it cancels the deal on the back of antitrust issues, media reports said. The bank is expected to close the deal by the fourth quarter. 

Etrade is a US-based brokerage firm, headquartered in California. The firm offers financial services to small clients. It is reported to have five million clients with assets valued at $360 billion.

The post Morgan Stanley to acquire online trading firm Etrade for $13 bn appeared first on International Finance.

Speaking to Bloomberg on this development, Vincent Chui, Morgan Stanley’s Asia Pacific head of wealth management, said that the bank’s constant growth and increase in its markets is reason enough for them to go to the next level this year.

He indicated that the rise in the number of employees for the positions of relationship managers could result in a minimum of 50 to 60 more customer service, risk and product executives joining the organisation.

The US investment banking Morgan Stanley declared that it touched a milestone in profit last year, owing to its wealth management business that contributes to over 50 percent of its earnings.

When asked on how the turmoil that has engulfed Hong Kong has affected the bank’s operations in the region, he answered in the negative. But, he admitted that the clients are now more concerned on how and where to deposit their assets, whether it is the US, Europe, Hong Kong or Singapore.

However, he maintained that creation of wealth, especially in the Tier-II cities of China and other regions of the Asian continent, has been robust and went on to say that there are abundant options in the ultra-high net worth domain.

Speaking on the matter of buyouts, Chui clearly stated that the bank while exploring all avenues will not compete in its quest for growth. This is in line with Morgan Stanley’s moves as against its competitor UBS that plans to cut down 500 jobs worldwide in order to focus exclusively on Asia and Europe.

The post Morgan Stanley aims to boost its wealth management staff strength in Asia appeared first on International Finance.

Reportedly, Ted Post, a senior executive at Barclays will join Deutsche Bank in New York. Ted Post, who joined Barclays in 2012, is set to become Deutsche Bank’s co-head of global prime finance sales in the US.

Deutsche Bank plans to rebuild its prime brokerage business and ultimately hand it over to BNP Paribas. The newly hired employees from Barclays will also migrate to BNP Paribas at the time of handover.

Earlier in the month of October, Deutsche Bank signed a deal with France’s BNP Paribas to transfer its staff, clients, and technology in its prime brokerage and electronic equities businesses to BNP Paribas.

According to the deal, Deutsche Bank will continue to operate the platform until all its prime brokerage clients can be migrated to BNP Paribas.

The Deutsche Bank restructuring will also see potential job cuts and the bank will divest assets worth €74 billion as it closes a large part of its trading business.

Prior to the Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas deal, it was reported that Barclays might take a portion of the German bank’s prime brokerage unit.

In the first half of this year, Deutsche Bank generated $8.8 billion in revenue from prime services, an 18 percent reduction when compared to the same period last year.

Both Deutsche Bank and Barclays are among the sixteen financial institutions that will pay a total of $386.5 million settlement fees to the US. It was alleged that sixteen of the world’s top financial institutions conspired to fix the prices of bonds issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over a seven-year period.

The post Deutsche Bank poaches Barclays’ top hedge fund managers appeared first on International Finance.

The decision is expected to save Deutsche Bank millions of dollars in costs. In July, Christian Sewing, the chief executive, had announced plans to slash 18,000 jobs as part of its business overhaul.  Deutsche cut 6,000 jobs and restricted investment banking activities under Sewing as part of its sweeping changes, the media reported. 

In the past, the bank had under-invested in technology. The Deutsche Bank aims to drive automation in its back office operations through a project called Operations 4.0 to with the goal to become innovative and digital. With that, the bank’s back office employees are expected to understand basic coding and handle digital tools. 

Deutsche Bank has set a €6bn cost-saving target to achieve over the next three years and automation with robots is a significant part of it. 

Mark Matthews, head of operations for Deutsche Bank’s corporate and investment bank, told the media that, “It [headcount] will continue to go down, there’s no question about that. Our model is to reduce costs and, at the same time, improve our control environment and the client experience.” 

Last week, BNP Paribas obtained approval to take over Deutsche Bank’s global prime brokerage and electronic equities clients. The deal is part of Deutsche Bank’s major restructuring plans. Both banks signed a master transaction contract after agreeing to the deal. However, the deal is still in its transition phase. 

The post Automation: Deutsche Bank deploys robots as it slashes jobs appeared first on International Finance.