NEW YORK — Global banks including top US lenders are expected to report a 10 percent gain in markets revenue as traders cashed in on shifting US tariff policies, according to estimates from analysis firm Crisil Coalition Greenwich.
The projections follow a 15 percent gain in trading revenue in the first quarter for 12 global banks, the data showed.
Bank of America and Citigroup executives said last month they expect markets revenue to climb by mid-to-high single digit percentages in the second quarter, following a strong first quarter.
When US banking giants report second quarter earnings next week, they could even beat those expectations, executives and analysts said. The gains come after US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements in April spurred volatility in stocks and drove volumes to a record in the US Treasuries market, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb Markets.
“Anybody that’s in the market-making business, providing people with instantaneous liquidity, is going to benefit,” said a senior Wall Street executive who declined to be identified discussing client activity.
“Stocks went down, bonds went down, and the currency went down – your portfolio was just more risky, and we just saw derisking.”
Coalition bases its estimates on 12 global banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, as well as European rivals.
“Volatility is the friend of markets revenue,” said Mollie Devine, head of markets competitor analytics at Coalition. Some of the tariff announcements were a “positive catalyst” for trading desks, she added.
Equities performed better than fixed income and currencies, Devine added, even though stock markets are smaller than those for bonds or foreign exchange. She estimated equities revenues would gain 18 percent in the second quarter, while bonds would climb 5 percent compared with the previous year.
