US bond volumes give hope that capital markets can buck their weak start

Global capital markets deal volumes have fallen not just from their pandemic highs but also from the start of 2019. Undaunted, bankers remain upbeat about prospects. While aggregate activity is down, the detailed picture is certainly more nuanced.

No investment banker was expecting 2022 to be like 2021. The full-year earnings season, which saw many banks report record investment banking and capital markets revenues, was all about dampening expectations.

The caveats were everywhere: yes results had been on a tear, but the benchmark should be 2019, not the odd dynamics of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and definitely not the extraordinary glut of issuance seen in 2021.

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