APAC Q1 investment banking fees fall 5% on M&A and loan slump

Only ECM fees rose during the quarter.

Investment banking fees generated in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan fell 5% year-on-year (YoY) to $5.3b in Q1 2026 on lower syndicated lending and M&A advisory fees, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Deals Intelligence team.

The region accounted for 15% of total fees earned worldwide.

Syndicated lending fees dropped 43% YoY to $311m, whilst estimated advisory fees earned from completed mergers and acquisitions (M&As) fell by 47% YoY to $512m during the quarter.

Debt capital market (DCM) fees also recorded a slight decline to $3.2b, 3% lower than a year ago.

Equity capital market (ECM) fees offset some of the declines, rising 62% YoY to $1.3b during the period.

Amongst financial institutions, CITIC took the top position for overall investment banking fees earned in the APAC excluding Japan region. CITIC accounted for 6.4% of the total wallet share of $340.6m.

CITIC was also the top book runner year-to-date (YTD) for DCM.

BofA Securities was the top M&A financial adviser YTD, whilst Morgan Stanley was the top ECM book runner so far in 2026.