Investment Banking Fees Plunge in Singapore
The city-state's sector registered a near 60 percent drop in fees generated to $91.9 million for the first quarter with the declines posted across all asset classes, according to Refinitv data.
First quarter activity plummeted across mergers and acquisitions (down 36 percent to $17.6 billion), equity capital markets (down 65 percent to $804 million) and debt capital markets (down 43 percent to $4.3 billion). This led to fee declines across the board, especially for M&A advisory which posted a more than 80 percent year-on-year nosedive.
In the same period, sector leaders include Deloitte for M&A ($8.8 billion and 50 percent market share), Credit Suisse for ECM ($155 million and 21 percent) and DBS for DCM ($1.7 billion and 39 percent).
Singapore Banking Woes
The ongoing coronavirus outbreak, which has infected nearly 250,000 victims and claimed over 10,000 lives, continues to exert economic pressure on the broader corporate and investment banking sector in Singapore.
Troubles for lenders in the city-state were further exacerbated due to local players' close connectivity to Malaysia which recently announced a nationwide lockdown. One estimate by UOB’s CFO Lee Wai Fai claimed that credit costs could jump 80 basis points if the outbreak extends beyond mid-2020.
