MENA investment banking fees up 4% at $895.7mln in nine months: Refinitiv
Investment banking fees generated in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) reached an estimated $895.7 million during the first nine months of 2020, up 4% from the same period in 2019 to the highest year-to-date total since 2008, data from Refinitiv revealed.
According to the global data provider, a $361.4 million worth of advisory fees were earned from completed M&A transactions in the region during the first nine months of 2020, up 23 percent from last year to the highest year-to-date total since our records began in 2000.
The value of announced M&A transactions with any MENA involvement reached $58.0 billion during the first nine months of 2020. It marked the third highest year-to-date total of all-time, despite falling 52 percent in value from the record high achieved last year with Saudi Aramco’s agreement to buy a stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp for $69.1 billion.
Debt capital markets underwriting fees also increased from last year, up 2 percent to $211.7 million, the second highest year-to-date total since our records began. Meanwhile, equity capital markets underwriting fees declined 20 percent to $44.6 million, marking the lowest first nine-month total for equity fees in the region in four years.
Syndicated lending fees fell 8 percent to a five-year low of $278.0 million.
Government & Agency fees accounted for 35 percent of total investment banking fees earned in the region during the first nine months of 2020, up from 24% during the same period last year. The UAE generated the most fees, a total of $361.0 million accounting for 40 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia with $268.3 million.
HSBC earned the most investment banking fees in the region during the first nine months of 2020, a total of $91.1 million or a 10 percent share of the total fee pool.
