JPMorgan retains number one spot in investment banking but revenues slip

[LONDON] The US bank JPMorgan retained its crown as the top performing investment bank in 2014, although its revenues fell 6 per cent, new data showed on Friday.

JPMorgan reaped US$22 billion from investment banking in 2014, compared with US$23.3 billion in 2013, according to a ranking compiled by the industry analytics firm Coalition.

JPMorgan's trading in fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) divisions fared the worst, with revenue down 12.8 per cent to US$10.9 billion, though it still led the field.

Regulations brought in after the financial crisis that require banks to build up capital buffers to cover their risky assets have hit interest rate trading desks hard, and banks are reshaping themselves to deal with lower volumes as well as regulatory changes.

In equity business, Morgan Stanley beat JPMorgan to lead the ranking, with revenue of US$5.9 billion, 15.7 per cent up on JPMorgan's revenue of US$5.1 billion in 2013, when it held the top spot.

Revenue in investment banking proper, or advisory and origination business, where staff advise on deals, also rose. First-place JPMorgan's 2014 revenue was US$6.1 billion, almost 7 per cent more than last year.

US banks continued to dominate the top spots, with Goldman Sachs coming second overall across investment banking, and Citigroup and Bank of America Merrill Lynch sharing third place with Deutsche Bank.

Coalition tracks the performance of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS - the 10 largest investment banks globally. It did not provide figures for the banks' combined business volumes in 2014.

REUTERS