<div id="readability-page-1">Investment banking fees across Asia-Pacific excluding Japan reached US$5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2026, with China’s Citic Securities ranking as the region’s top earner. The total in the first three months fell 5 per cent from a year earlier, as growth in equity capital markets underwriting was offset by weaker debt capital market and mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;A) activity, according to an LSEG Data and Analytics report on Thursday. Helped by strong fees from its bond underwriting business, Citic earned US$340.6 million, giving it a 6.4 per cent share of the region’s total investment banking fee pool and cementing its No 1 ranking after also leading the table last year. Investment banking fees comprise revenues from equity capital markets activities, such as initial public offering (IPO) underwriting and follow-on offerings, debt capital markets, M&amp;A advisory and syndicated lending services. Hi-tech companies led regional equity capital market activity, raising US$17.3 billion, a 151.5 per cent year-on-year surge. Healthcare deals also showed strong momentum, with issuance jumping 120 per cent from a year earlier.  BofA Securities ranked as the top M&amp;A financial adviser during the period, working on deals worth US$28.38 billion. Morgan Stanley led equity capital markets book-running, arranging US$6 billion in proceeds. Citic ranked first in debt capital markets book-running, arranging US$70.67 billion of bond issuance. The Chinese investment bank also performed strongly in equity capital markets, ranking second behind Morgan Stanley with deals worth US$4.58 billion. China generated an estimated US$3.6 billion in investment banking fees in the first quarter, a 5 per cent increase from a year earlier and the highest first-quarter total since 2023. The growth was mainly driven by IPO and post-IPO fundraising activities. Among notable equity deals, China Shenhua Energy, the country’s largest coal miner, raised US$2.89 billion through a follow-on share placement in Shanghai in late March. Pig farming giant Muyuan Foods also tapped the market in February, raising US$1.4 billion through a secondary listing in Hong Kong, one of the biggest deals in the city this year. Chinese investment banks are expected to continue benefiting from a buoyant domestic IPO market. In the first quarter, the A-share market recorded 30 new listings that raised 25.9 billion yuan (US$3.8 billion), with growth in both deal size and volume, according to Deloitte. Chinese artificial intelligence companies and other A-share-listed firms flocked to Hong Kong, helping lift the city’s IPO activity to 40 deals that raised HK$109.9 billion in the same period. “Despite global uncertainties, particularly regarding developments in the Strait of Hormuz, US interest rates and the global economic outlook”, mainland China and Hong Kong’s IPO markets “have strong pipelines of large listings”, said Dick Kay, national leader of capital market services group at Deloitte China, in a statement on Wednesday.</div>

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<p>Investment banking fees in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) reached US$5.3 billion in Q1 2026, with Citic Securities leading as the top earner, earning US$340.6 million. Despite a 5% decline in total fees from last year, Citic's strong bond underwriting helped maintain its No. 1 ranking. The region saw a surge in equity capital market activities, particularly from hi-tech and healthcare sectors. China generated US$3.6 billion in fees, driven by IPOs and fundraising, with expectations of continued growth in the domestic IPO market.</p>

SCMP

CITIC SEC

CITIC Securities Co., Ltd.

Yinhua CSI All Share Investment Banking & Brokerage ETF

GF Fund CSI HK Connect Financials(ex Banks) Thematic ETF

Guotai CSI All Share Investment Banking & Brokerage ETF

Hwabao WP CSI All Share Investment Banking & Brokerage ETF

Mainland China and Hong Kong IPOs drive Citic to the top of banking fee rankings