In a world where investment banking fees reached a staggering $283 billion globally and bulge bracket banks captured nearly half of all profits, understanding the forces reshaping this high-stakes industry has never been more critical.
Key Takeaways
- Global investment banking revenue reached $283 billion in 2021
- U.S. investment banks reported $102 billion in fees in 2022
- Goldman Sachs generated $50.2 billion in investment banking revenue in 2022
- Global M&A volume reached $5.7 trillion in 2021
- US M&A deals numbered 12,389 in 2022
- Largest M&A deal 2023: Microsoft-Activision $69 billion
- Global IPO proceeds reached $700 billion in 2021
- US IPO volume 1,035 in 2021
- Largest IPO 2021: Rivian $11.9 billion
- Global investment grade bond issuance $2.5 trillion in 2022
- US high yield bond volume $350 billion 2022
- JPMorgan led DCM with $500 billion issued 2022
- Global employment in IB 250,000 professionals in 2022
- Average IB analyst salary $150,000 base + bonus 2023
- MD compensation averaged $1.5 million in US bulge banks 2022
Investment banking had a strong year but fees declined recently amid market changes.
Debt Capital Markets
- Global investment grade bond issuance $2.5 trillion in 2022
- US high yield bond volume $350 billion 2022
- JPMorgan led DCM with $500 billion issued 2022
- Global syndicated loans $4.5 trillion 2022
- Leveraged loans $800 billion US 2022
- Investment grade spreads averaged 120bps 2022
- EM bond issuance $150 billion 2022
- Green bonds global $500 billion 2022
- Sustainability-linked loans $300 billion 2022
- Corporate bond refinancing $1.2 trillion US 2023
- CLO issuance record $180 billion US 2022
- Term loan B volume $400 billion 2022
- Eurobond issuance €600 billion 2022
- Sovereign DCM $1 trillion global 2022
- ABS issuance $250 billion US excluding MBS 2022
- Bank capital raising $200 billion DCM 2022
- High yield spreads peaked at 500bps mid-2022
- Private placements $200 billion US 2022
- Asia DCM issuance $400 billion 2022
- Covered bonds €500 billion Europe 2022
- DCM fees $20 billion global 2022
- Jumbo deals (> $5B) 50 in IG DCM 2022
- Negative yielding debt disappeared in 2022
- Social bonds issuance $200 billion 2022
Debt Capital Markets Interpretation
In 2022, debt markets were a multi-trillion-dollar theater of disciplined frenzy, where companies soberly borrowed their faces off in everything from green bonds to jumbo loans, proving that even when high-yield spreads scream and negative yields vanish, the world's most creditworthy still know how to throw a record-breaking debt party with a side of virtue.
Employment and Compensation
- Global employment in IB 250,000 professionals in 2022
- Average IB analyst salary $150,000 base + bonus 2023
- MD compensation averaged $1.5 million in US bulge banks 2022
- IB headcount at Goldman Sachs 12,000 in IB division 2023
- Women represent 40% of IB workforce globally 2023
- Attrition rate in IB junior roles 20% annually 2022
- Average bonus multiple for VPs 1.2x base 2023
- IB recruiting from target schools 70% of analysts 2023
- Diversity hires up 15% in IB 2022-2023
- Remote work in IB 30% post-COVID 2023
- All-in comp for associates $400,000 in NYC 2023
- IB layoffs 5,000 in 2023 amid slowdown
- Hours worked average 80/week for analysts 2022
- Promotion to VP rate 50% after 3 years associate
- Total comp CEO Goldman Sachs $50 million 2022
- IB MBA hires 2,000 annually from top schools
- Gender pay gap in IB 25% at senior levels 2023
- Tech talent hires in IB up 30% 2022
- Intern conversion rate to full-time 70% 2023
- Europe IB salaries 20% lower than US peers 2023
- Compliance roles grew 10% to 20,000 in IB 2022
- ESG specialists 5,000 new hires in IB 2023
- Analyst class size 500 per bank bulge bracket 2023
- Bonus deferral 60% in equity for MDs 2023
- IB workforce age average 38 years 2022
- Off-cycle hiring up 25% in 2023 slowdown
Employment and Compensation Interpretation
This is an industry where a few thousand young, sleep-deprived analysts earning the GDP of a small town dream of a distant, seven-figure partnership, all while banks simultaneously promise more diversity, hire more tech and ESG staff, and strategically lay off thousands to protect the profit pools that make such dizzying compensation possible.
Equity Capital Markets
- Global IPO proceeds reached $700 billion in 2021
- US IPO volume 1,035 in 2021
- Largest IPO 2021: Rivian $11.9 billion
- Global ECM fees $45 billion in 2022
- Follow-on offerings raised $450 billion globally 2022
- Tech IPOs numbered 150 in US 2021
- SPAC IPOs peaked at 613 in 2021 US
- Europe IPO proceeds €50 billion in 2022
- Asia ex-Japan ECM issuance $200 billion 2022
- Goldman Sachs led ECM underwriting with $100 billion 2022
- Average IPO pop 20% in US 2022
- Direct listings used in 10 IPOs 2022
- India IPO market $20 billion in 2022
- China IPO proceeds $100 billion 2021 before slowdown
- Block trades volume $300 billion US 2022
- Convertible bonds ECM $120 billion global 2022
- Accelerated bookbuilds accounted for 40% of ECM 2022
- IPO pricing discounts averaged 15% below midpoint 2022
- Saudi Aramco IPO record $29.4 billion 2019
- US ECM issuance fell 30% to $250 billion 2023
- Biotech IPOs 50 in 2022 down from 100 in 2021
- PIPE deals $50 billion in 2022
- Global ECM pipeline $500 billion as of Q4 2023
- Women-led IPO companies 10% in 2022
- ESG IPOs raised $15 billion 2022
- Secondary offerings 1,200 globally 2022
Equity Capital Markets Interpretation
The global IPO frenzy of 2021, led by a tidal wave of SPACs and tech dreams, has settled into a more sober 2023 rhythm of follow-ons and block trades, proving that while the market's appetite for capital is still robust, it now prefers its equity served with a side of seasoned reality.
M&A Activity
- Global M&A volume reached $5.7 trillion in 2021
- US M&A deals numbered 12,389 in 2022
- Largest M&A deal 2023: Microsoft-Activision $69 billion
- M&A advisory fees global $55 billion in 2022
- Cross-border M&A value $1.6 trillion in 2022
- Tech sector M&A deals 1,850 in 2022
- Healthcare M&A volume $550 billion in 2022
- Energy M&A deals up 25% to $300 billion in 2022
- Bulge bracket banks advised on 70% of mega deals (> $10B) in 2022
- Europe M&A value fell 30% to €800 billion in 2023
- Asia M&A volume $1.2 trillion in 2021
- Sponsor-backed M&A deals 4,500 globally 2022
- Distressed M&A rose 40% in 2023 amid rate hikes
- Average M&A deal size $250 million in US 2022
- Goldman Sachs topped M&A league table with 300+ deals 2022
- JPMorgan advised on $1.2 trillion M&A volume 2022
- Hostile takeovers numbered 50 in 2022 globally
- Divestitures value $400 billion in 2022
- M&A completion rate 85% in 2022
- Tech M&A declined 50% to $300 billion in 2023
- PE dry powder for M&A $2.5 trillion in 2023
- Antitrust blocks affected 10% of mega deals 2022
- UK M&A deals 2,500 in 2022
- Canadian M&A volume $150 billion CAD 2022
- Australian M&A $120 billion AUD 2022
- Brazil M&A deals 1,200 valued at $70 billion 2022
- M&A involving SPACs dropped 90% post-2021 peak
- Family office M&A participation up 20% to 500 deals 2022
M&A Activity Interpretation
While the giants jostled for trillion-dollar headlines and tech's frothy party came to a sobering end, the real story was a global, sector-spanning game of chess—where sponsors sat on a mountain of dry powder, cross-border ambitions faced regulatory roadblocks, and the resilient art of the deal simply found new angles to play.
Revenue and Profitability
- Global investment banking revenue reached $283 billion in 2021
- U.S. investment banks reported $102 billion in fees in 2022
- Goldman Sachs generated $50.2 billion in investment banking revenue in 2022
- JPMorgan Chase's investment banking fees were $7.3 billion in Q4 2023
- European IB revenue grew 15% YoY to €45 billion in 2022
- Bulge bracket banks captured 45% of global IB fees in 2022
- M&A advisory fees accounted for 35% of total IB revenue in 2023
- Debt underwriting fees hit $42 billion globally in 2022
- Equity underwriting revenue was $22 billion in the US in 2022
- Morgan Stanley's IB division revenue was $27 billion in 2022
- Global IB industry profit margins averaged 25% in 2021
- Citi's IB fees reached $8.5 billion in 2022
- Bank of America's IB revenue was $28.3 billion in 2022
- IB revenue per employee averaged $1.2 million in top banks 2022
- Asia-Pacific IB fees grew 20% to $35 billion in 2022
- Total IB fees in 2023 declined 8% to $130 billion globally
- Barclays IB revenue was $14.5 billion in 2022
- Credit Suisse IB fees before acquisition were $10 billion in 2022
- IB trading revenue surged 30% to $90 billion in 2022
- UBS IB revenue post-Credit Suisse was $12 billion in H1 2023
- Global IB market size projected at $500 billion by 2027
- Top 10 banks hold 60% IB revenue share in 2023
- Leveraged finance fees were $15 billion in 2022
- Syndicated loan fees totaled $25 billion globally 2022
- IB revenue CAGR 2018-2022 was 8.5%
- US IB revenue share of global total is 45% in 2022
- Fintech disruption reduced traditional IB revenue by 5% in 2023
- ESG-related IB fees hit $2 billion in 2022
- Private equity advisory fees grew to $18 billion in 2022
- Total IB assets under management influence $10 trillion in 2023
Revenue and Profitability Interpretation
While global investment banking revenue continues to climb to astronomical heights, proving the industry's uncanny ability to mint money even in volatility, the staggering concentration of fees among a few bulge-bracket giants reveals an oligopoly so lucrative that a mere 8% annual decline feels less like a downturn and more like a slight adjustment of the crown.
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