Equity fund raising activity surges 52%, fee pool declines in H12020

ECM underwriting fees stood at $96 million in H1, 6.7% lower than the corresponding period in 2019

Equity capital market (ECM) activity jumped over 50 per cent in the first half (H1) of calendar year 2020 led by big-ticket transactions of large companies such as Reliance Industries (RIL) and Hindustan Unilever (HUL). However, ECM fee collection dipped 7 per cent as investment banks sacrificed fees to bag bigger mandates.

ECM underwriting fees stood at $96 million in H1, 6.7 per cent lower than the corresponding period in 2019, according to Refinitiv, a financial-information provider. This comes at a time when equity capital raising jumped 52 per cent, just surpassing the $20 billion mark and almost nearing 2019’s full-year