The global economy appears to have stabilised,but the shake-up in investment banking continues apace. Data from research company Coalition showed overall revenues for investment banks were down 5% year-on-year in the first half of 2014.
Advisory and capital markets work is growing – up 11% in the first half of the year – as confidence returns to corporate boardrooms. But this is still the smallest component of revenues. Equity trading revenues fell 4%, and fixed income, commodities and currencies (FICC) – by far the largest slice of revenues at almost half the total – slumped by 13%. The growing regulatory focus on leverage ratios makes FICC trading a difficult business to maintain.
