Capital Market Revenues for European Firms Remained Strong In Q3; Lower Loan Loss Provisions

In Q3 European firms with capital market activities continued to see strong growth in Sales and Trading (S&T), with Equities S&T revenues growing again after two quarters of contractions. Particularly notable was the growth in Equity underwriting revenues on the back of strong IPO activity, and Debt underwriting revenues also showed good growth although more muted than in Q2. Advisory revenues remained under pressure, mirroring the trend seen in previous quarters. This commentary focuses on the performance of the capital markets divisions (including Sales & Trading, Underwriting and Advisory) of the major European firms in Q2 2020.