Canadian investment bankers enjoyed a robust first half of the year, with both equity and debt issuance surging, according to data from LSEG Data & Analytics.
The total value of equity issuance for the first half of 2024 reached $10 billion, up 65% from the same period a year ago, even as the volume of deals was down 10% year over year.
Secondary offerings led the way, with $8.6 billion in new issue activity, up 61% from the first half of last year.
Retail structured products were the next-strongest segment, with over $420 million issued in the first half, up 71% from last year.
Conversely, the initial public offering market and preferred securities offerings were both weaker this year.
The materials sector drove overall equity issuance, accounting for 59% of the new issue activity, followed by the energy & power sector at 15.3%, and the financials sector, which represented 6% of the new equity raised in the first half.
In the LSEG league tables, RBC Capital Markets was the leading equity underwriter, followed by BMO Capital Markets, National Bank Financial (NBF) and Scotiabank. Goldman Sachs rounded out the top five spots.
Canaccord Genuity ranked first in retail structured products, with over 50% market share. BMO and Cantor Fitzgerald LP tied for second. CIBC, RBC and Scotia shared fourth spot.
LSEG reported that debt issuance was also up strongly in the first half, with the value of deals up 45% from last year to $161.8 billion. The volume of debt deals was also up 21% from the first half of 2023.
Government debt accounted for the largest share of new issue activity, with $93.8 billion worth issued during the first six months of the year.
Corporate debt issuance totalled $57 billion, up 69% year-over-year, LSEG reported.
Financials drove the corporate debt activity, with $32.7 billion in new issuance, followed by the energy & power sector at $20.5 billion. The real estate and industrials sectors trailed at $3.3 billion and $3.2 billion, respectively.
RBC also led the debt underwriting league tables, followed by TD Securities Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., BMO and Scotia.