Investment banking fees in MENA dip to $591mln in H1 2021
Investment banking fees in Middle East & North Africa (MENA) totaled $591 million during the first half of 2021, a decrease of 4 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Refinitiv data.
The fees generated was from a total of 193 deals in H1 2021, nearly 3 percent more than the number of deals in the year-ago period.
Fees earned from mergers & acquisitions (M&A) generated 191.4 million, down 30 percent from the same period in 2020. However, compared to Q1 2021, there was a strong recovery of 838 percent in M&A fees.
Equity capital market (ECM) underwriting fees more than doubled to $46.4 million, the highest since 2018.
Bond underwriting fees recorded its strongest first half since Refinitiv records began, generating $198.5 million in fees, an increase of 14 percent from the same period last year. Bond underwriting fees also accounted for 34 percent of total fees, the highest proportion since Refinitiv records began.
Syndicated lending fees increased 4 percent to $154.9 million, making up a quarter of fees earned in the first half of 2021.
Top sectors
In terms of sectors by market share, energy and power accounted for 35 percent of fees in MENA, while financials accounted for 33 percent. Government and Agencies sector was the third, accounting for 24 percent of the fees. For the same period in 2020, energy and power accounted for 27 percent of the fees, while financials accounted for 15 percent. Government and Agencies sector was the highest at 32 percent of the fees in the year-ago period.
Top fee-paying nations in in the first half of the year were Saudi Arabia accounting for 43 percent of the total, followed by the UAE at 24 percent, and Qatar at 12 percent. For the same period in 2020, Saudi Arabia accounted for 41 percent of the fees, while the UAE accounted for 29 percent while Qatar was third, accounting for 10 percent of the total.
Top earners
JP Morgan earned the most investment banking fees, 12 percent of the total, in the region with a total of $71.6 million fees generated, followed by HSBC with $50 million in fees. First Abu Dhabi Bank was the highest-ranked regional bank placed fifth with $31.1 million fees, or 5.3 percent of total market share, generated so far this year.
