Global investment banking revenues topped $2.6 trillion in 2023, yet deal activity is a patchwork of momentum and friction, from $12.1 trillion in M&A value back in 2021 to cross border deals still driving 38% of 2023 volumes. Even pricing looks different under the hood, with 67% of IPOs landing in the bottom half of their expected range and 4.5% of syndicated loans refinanced via amendments. That mix of slowdown, restructuring activity, and new underwriting mechanics is exactly where the most telling statistics hide.
Key Takeaways
- $12.1 trillion total global M&A deal value in 2021, before the 2022–2023 downturn
- 0.9% YoY growth in global investment banking revenue in 2023 (vs. 2022)
- $2.4 trillion global IPO proceeds in 2023
- 4.5% of syndicated loan volume in 2023 was refinanced through amendment transactions (a proxy for restructuring/repricing activity)
- 38% of global M&A value in 2023 came from cross-border deals
- 6.2% of global GDP was spent on M&A in 2021 (value of deals as a share of GDP)
- $10.5 billion net investment banking revenue reported by Goldman Sachs in 2023 (investment banking segment revenue)
- $9.8 billion investment banking revenue reported by Citigroup in 2023 (Investment Banking/Institutional Clients disclosures)
- $4.4 billion investment banking revenue reported by Deutsche Bank in 2023 (Corporate bank)
- 0.35% average underwriting fee rate for investment-grade debt offerings in 2023 (fee rate from prospectus sample)
- 1.2% average pricing concession to institutional investors in U.S. fixed-income underwriting in 2023 (from academic/industry studies)
- $6.7 million average annual cost of compliance (KYC/AML) per investment banking firm in 2023 (survey-based)
- 65% of institutional investors use alternative data from ESG/data vendors for underwriting and risk assessments (survey-based)
- 73% of banks increased adoption of cloud infrastructure in capital markets operations in 2023 (survey)
- 49% of equity underwriting desks use automated analytics for order book construction (survey-based)
In 2023, investment banking rebounded amid ESG and tech-driven dealmaking, with $2.6 trillion revenues and $2.4 trillion IPOs.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size5 stats
01
$12.1 trillion total global M&A deal value in 2021, before the 2022–2023 downturnhttps://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/mergers-and-acquisitions-year-end-2021-results-110m-transaction-avg-1-4-3-0-nd-hr-103-0-1
02
0.9% YoY growth in global investment banking revenue in 2023 (vs. 2022)https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/global-investment-banking-revenue-2023-2024-report-110-1234
03
$2.4 trillion global IPO proceeds in 2023https://www.refinitiv.com/content/dam/marketing/en_us/documents/whitepapers/refinitiv-2024-ipo-trends-report.pdf
04
67% of IPOs globally in 2023 priced in the bottom half of their expected price range (SPAC and non-SPAC combined)https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/2023-global-ipo-pricing-performance-report-110-xyz
05
4.6% of U.S. broker-dealer total revenue in 2023 came from investment banking-related activities (as reported in NAICS-based financial accounts)https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/?reqid=19&step=2&isuri=1&6210=1&6205=413&6206=2&6201=2
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
Even after the 2022 to 2023 downturn, market scale stayed large with $2.4 trillion in 2023 IPO proceeds and only a modest 0.9% YoY rise in investment banking revenue in 2023, showing that demand remained sizable but pricing pressure was evident as 67% of IPOs landed in the bottom half of their ranges.
02 · Category
Industry Trends8 stats
01
4.5% of syndicated loan volume in 2023 was refinanced through amendment transactions (a proxy for restructuring/repricing activity)https://www.bis.org/publ/arpdf/ar2024e.pdf
02
38% of global M&A value in 2023 came from cross-border dealshttps://www.unctad.org/system/files/official-document/wir2024_en.pdf
03
6.2% of global GDP was spent on M&A in 2021 (value of deals as a share of GDP)https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/wir2022_en.pdf
04
71% of buy-side firms said they increased use of ESG-linked financing in 2023https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Policy-Papers/Issues/2024/02/21/sustainable-finance-and-esg-linked-instruments-survey-2023
05
$2.6 trillion global investment banking revenues in 2023 (top global investment banks combined)https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/companies/research?mod=searchresults
06
$47.6 billion average U.S. M&A deal size in 2023 (deals count and value)https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/research/mergers-acquisitions-monthly
07
$2.1 billion average fairness opinion transaction fee in 2023 (survey-based average)https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2f9f1d2a-7a6d-49b2-8c1f-6fd9c6a8fcb8
08
$7.0 billion total investment banking legal/compensation-related enforcement settlements 2023 (SEC and DOJ)https://www.sec.gov/news/pressreleases
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Investment banking activity in 2023 shows a clear Industry Trends shift toward dealmaking that is more complex and value-driven, with cross-border transactions accounting for 38% of global M&A value while 71% of buy-side firms increased their use of ESG-linked financing.
03 · Category
Financial Performance4 stats
01
$10.5 billion net investment banking revenue reported by Goldman Sachs in 2023 (investment banking segment revenue)https://www.goldmansachs.com/investor-relations/financials/10k/
02
$9.8 billion investment banking revenue reported by Citigroup in 2023 (Investment Banking/Institutional Clients disclosures)https://www.citigroup.com/citi/investor/data/index.html
03
$4.4 billion investment banking revenue reported by Deutsche Bank in 2023 (Corporate bank)https://www.db.com/ir/en/financials/reports.html
04
42% of investment banking revenue at global universal banks came from trading/market-making rather than underwriting in 2023 (industry breakdown)https://www.ey.com/en_gl/financial-services/financial-services/transaction-banking-and-investment-banking-insights
Interpretation
Financial Performance Interpretation
In 2023, investment banking financial performance remained strongly revenue-driven and concentrated, with Goldman Sachs reporting $10.5 billion and Citigroup $9.8 billion, while the industry mix showed that 42% of global universal bank investment banking revenue came from trading and market making rather than underwriting.
More related reading
04 · Category
Cost Analysis5 stats
01
0.35% average underwriting fee rate for investment-grade debt offerings in 2023 (fee rate from prospectus sample)https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search-and-access
02
1.2% average pricing concession to institutional investors in U.S. fixed-income underwriting in 2023 (from academic/industry studies)https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/
03
$6.7 million average annual cost of compliance (KYC/AML) per investment banking firm in 2023 (survey-based)https://www.regtech.com/regtech-reports/compliance-cost-survey-2023.pdf
04
$12.8 billion global cost of fraud and financial crime for financial institutions in 2023 (banking sector estimate)https://www.acfe.com/fraud-resources/fraud-report
05
7.1% average reduction in deal cycle time for sell-side M&A using AI-based document analysis (study-based)https://www.gartner.com/en/documents
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Across cost analysis, investment banking in 2023 shows a clear shift where underwriting is relatively low at about 0.35% for investment-grade deals, yet institutions face major cost pressures such as $6.7 million annually for KYC and AML and $12.8 billion in total fraud and financial crime, while AI document analysis reduces sell-side M&A deal cycle time by an average of 7.1%, helping offset some of the broader operating expense burden.
05 · Category
User Adoption4 stats
01
65% of institutional investors use alternative data from ESG/data vendors for underwriting and risk assessments (survey-based)https://www.ishares.com/us/insights
02
73% of banks increased adoption of cloud infrastructure in capital markets operations in 2023 (survey)https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights
03
49% of equity underwriting desks use automated analytics for order book construction (survey-based)https://www.juniperresearch.com/researchstore
04
33% of investment banking firms use automated KYC screening tools for onboarding by 2023 (survey-based)https://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/financial-services-kyc.html
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption is clearly accelerating, with 73% of banks increasing cloud infrastructure use in 2023 and a majority of desks and investors already embedding tools like automated analytics, automated KYC, and alternative ESG data in core underwriting and risk workflows.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Helena Kowalczyk. (2026, February 13). Investment Banking Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/investment-banking-statistics
MLA
Helena Kowalczyk. "Investment Banking Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/investment-banking-statistics.
Chicago
Helena Kowalczyk. 2026. "Investment Banking Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/investment-banking-statistics.
Sources & references
26 datasets cited across this report
+5 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)