UK banks’ share of global equity capital and loans markets slip to record lows
UK banking’s global market share in equity capital market (ECM) trading and loan fees have hit their lowest and second-lowest values on record respectively, amid continued Brexit fallout and global uncertainty.
The UK’s lenders fell to a 4.8 per cent share of ECM fees, and 8.7 per cent of loan fees – the latter nearly halved from a decade ago – according to data from Thomson Reuters.
Barclays, HSBC, Standard Chartered, RBS and Lloyds were the top five UK fee earners, accounting collectively for 80 per cent of Britain’s overall fee income.
The UK also saw its share of the global investment banking pool drop to 7.8 per cent for the year to date, placing it at the second-lowest level on record.
Read more: Debt burden means more turbulence ahead for global markets, BIS warns
Despite the market share drops, the total fees earned by UK banks hit their third-highest level since the financial crash.
Leon Saunders Calvert, global head of capital markets at Thomson Reuters, said: “If the deal-making trends are representative of corporate confidence then the data is indicative of increasing levels of cautiousness.”
“With the geopolitical and macroeconomic dialogue being dominated by Brexit and its implications we have seen a year on year downturn in corporate activity related to capital raising and acquisitions,” he said.