World’s Best Investment Banks 2024 — Stocks

There appears to be a bias towards rate cuts as inflationary pressures subside and central banks around the world pause their aggressive rate hike cycles while managing to avoid a global recession. Investment bankers expect economic growth to continue this year, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicting a global GDP expansion rate of 3.1% (1.5% for all developed countries, 2.1% for the United States, and 2.1% for emerging and developing countries). (including 4.1% in developing countries).

Last year saw further growth in equity capital markets, with the MSCI World Index and S&P 500 each rising more than 24% in 2023. However, stock market issuance has not kept pace, increasing by just 8%, Dealogic says, blaming rising interest rates and ongoing geopolitical turmoil for the slowing pace. Regionally, issuance was relatively strong in the United States, Europe, and Japan, but this was offset by weak issuance in Latin America, Asia excluding Japan, and the Middle East.

The initial public offering (IPO) market is poised to shake off a slowdown in growth this year as the economic outlook improves. However, headwinds such as uncertainty surrounding the US election could force issuers to enter the market sooner rather than later.

This year’s regional winners are recognized for their comprehensive equity capital markets platforms, leadership in deal execution, and depth of knowledge across most major industries. —DS

Global | Bank of America Securities

Bank of America Securities, which operates in 35 countries and boasts a strong equity capital markets franchise, has achieved significant improvements in both global and regional leaderboard rankings. Despite continued high interest rates, BofA’s global issuance ranking rose four places to second place with $39 billion from 266 transactions, giving it a 7% share, while its global revenue ranking It moved up two places to 4th place, with a market share of 6%. According to Dealogic.

Regionally, the bank ranks first in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) by share issuance, up from fourth place in the same period last year, with $11 billion in revenue from 54 deals and a 9% share. claimed to have obtained it. In the Americas, BofA maintained its 3rd place in US issuance with $18 billion and 12% market share, and moved into the top 10 in Canada, up from 31st place last year. In Latin America, it moved up three places to take second place in terms of deal value, with 33 deals worth $2 billion and a 15% share, almost surpassing regional leader Itau BBA.

BofA moved up one spot to No. 10 in Asia ex-Japan, with $4.9 billion in stock issuance and a 3% share. It then established itself with IPOs in the US and EMEA, rising to 4th and 5th place respectively. With our deep execution capabilities and outstanding sector knowledge, the Bank is well-positioned to further drive these gains. —DS

Africa | Chapel Hill Denham

Despite the macroeconomic upheaval, Chapel Hill-Denham’s optimism remains undiminished. “Africa’s long-term story is a story of growth,” says partner Phil Southwell. He predicts issuance will continue to rise as banks and corporates seek to strengthen their capital base to meet the twin challenges of financing and recapitalizing the continent’s organic growth. .

Chapel Hill Denham is at the pinnacle of Africa’s equity capital markets. The company’s team boasts over 280 years of combined experience. The company has dominated issuance in Nigeria since 2017 with over 57% market share and participated in over 48% of deals completed last year. The firm oversaw $421.6 million worth of equity capital market transactions in the 12 months to October last year. The firm served as lead manager for the Nigerian Real Estate Investment Trust, through which he raised $95 million through Series II financing. The deal was the REIT’s largest ever and was 125% oversubscribed. —JN

Asia Pacific | DBS

DBS is a leading public company in Asia Pacific thanks to its agility in building equity solutions. And we aim to maintain that position by embracing new opportunities and challenges and improving our strategic vision.

In the field of REITs and business trusts, DBS maintains a leading position in the capital markets of Singapore and the entire Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In Hong Kong and Indonesia, we provide customized solutions to state-owned enterprises and privately owned small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2023, DBS acted as lead financial advisor, joint global coordinator, joint bookrunner and underwriter on several equity offerings on the Singapore Exchange, signaling the resurgence of the Singapore equity capital market post-pandemic.

In 2020, DBS received permission from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to establish a majority-owned subsidiary, DBS Securities (China). DBS Securities (China) operates in the mainland’s domestic equity capital market and serves Chinese clients with cross-border equity financing initiatives. . —L.Z.

Central and Eastern Europe | PKO Bank

PKO Bank Polski, a leading bank in Central and Eastern Europe ranked by net profit, capital and customer base, continued to record good results after a very strong year in trading and equity activity in Poland. The Warsaw-based giant continued to lead its home country’s investment market, which had one of the most active IPO scenes in Europe last year. Driven by the listing of 15 of his companies on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, in many of which his peacekeeping operations played a key role, his IPO activity surged in the region.

Looking to the future, PKO’s customer-centric positioning and decades of market dominance indicate the investment bank intends to continue improving its key performance indicators through 2025. The bank aims to achieve a return on equity of more than 12% and a cost-to-earnings ratio of less than 45%. Increase the investment banking percentage next year while keeping the cost of risk in the range of 0.7% to 0.9%. —TM

Latin America | Banco BTG Pataxial

A key element of Banco BTG Pactual’s investment banking success is its talented team of bankers and an organizational structure that is regularly improved to meet changing market dynamics and client needs. The current organization is organized around executive and industry groups and is designed to combine client-focused investment bankers with the necessary expertise.

This structure allows BTG to be faster in serving business customers in sectors such as financial institutions, logistics and transportation, retail, technology, energy, utilities, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, construction, environment and waste management, and more. will be able to respond to

The MSCI Latin America Index rose 33.5%, gaining momentum following the region’s strong performance last year, which far outperformed the broader MSCI Emerging Markets Index, supported by the accommodative monetary policies of many of the region’s central banks. It is expected that this will continue. Against this backdrop, BTG is aiming to improve its league table ranking. According to Dealogic, it ranked third in Latin American equity capital markets by trading volume last year, generating $1.8 billion in revenue from 24 transactions and a market share of 14%. The bank maintained its position as Brazil’s largest equity capital markets platform, recording 19 transactions with issuance of $1.6 billion. —DS

Middle East | First Abu Dhabi Bank

First Abu Dhabi Bank’s (FAB) Global Corporate Finance division operates a leading investment bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and across the Middle East, with a broad range of sector We offer in-depth local and regional knowledge across the globe. . The division’s international footprint provides it with extensive distribution capabilities to domestic and global institutional investors due to its position within the UAE’s largest bank.

According to Dealogic, share issuance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region fell by 47% last year, but FAB received traction with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) IPO, equivalent to 5% of the company’s gas holdings. secured high commissions. business and a separate IPO of his 19% of Adnoc Logistics and Services. These deals put FAB among the top five banks in MENA equity capital markets, according to Bloomberg, and 10th in EMEA IPO fees with a 2% share, according to Dealogic calculations. —DS

North America | Goldman Sachs

As economic conditions improve, there is a strong outlook for a resurgence in North American equity capital market activity. The Federal Reserve appears to have engineered a soft landing for the U.S. economy after successive interest rate cuts aimed at curbing inflation, with GDP growth in the fourth quarter at 3.2% and 2.5% for the year. As a result, concerns about economic recession subsided. 2023. The IMF currently expects US growth to continue, but at a slightly slower pace of 2.1% in 2024.

Analysts expect interest rates to continue rising in the short term, with a rate cut towards the end of the year, as falling unemployment and sustained levels of consumer spending support many U.S. businesses. . This bodes well for equity capital markets, said Elizabeth Reed, global head of Goldman Sachs’ equity syndication desk, in a February article on the firm’s website.

“Changes at the Fed and global central banks will be a positive tailwind for equity capital markets overall,” she said. Additionally, the IPO “pipeline is growing” and activity is expected to increase “by financial sponsors and venture capital firms looking to monetize their portfolios.”

In light of this outlook, Goldman intends to strengthen its market share of 14%, fee share of 14%, IPO revenue share of 6%, and IPO share of 12% to maintain and strengthen its No. 1 position in the league table in U.S. equity issuance. I’ll aim for it. income. —DS

Western Europe | UBS

According to Dealogic, the volume of European stock offerings increased by 44% in 2023 compared to the previous year. And UBS, the region’s premier bank, has been able to drive some of this year’s major deals. The bank is leading not only in issuance volume but also in the quality of its offering, helping customers capitalize on positive momentum by offering customized and unique opportunities within equities. did.

Among several landmark deals, UBS debuted on the London Stock Exchange in May with 507 million euros (approximately $551 million) of Admiral Acquisition, the UK’s largest IPO since 2021 He served as co-global coordinator and lead publisher for the issue. The firm also acted as sole global coordinator and bookrunner for a CHF 108 million (approximately $121.6 million) primary accelerated book building offering in shares of Swiss biotech Bachem Holdings,・He was also the lead advisor on the €1.2 billion rights issue of ALD Automotive, a subsidiary of General. It was completed in 2022. —TM