Bank Results

Despite strong revenues, analysts have questioned bonuses designed to 'retain key talent' at Citi

The firm also noted that it had spent on 'front office hires' within its investment bank in the past quarter

A strong quarterly result for Crédit Agricole was given a boost by a recovery in structured finance volumes in EMEA, including asset-backed and mortgage-backed deals as well as project finance.

NatWest Group said on Friday that the “reshaping” of its investment banking arm, NatWest Markets, would be largely complete by the end of the year, after it moved a further 500 staff out of NWM in the second quarter.

It has been an earnings season of rebounds. UBS, the first of the European investment banks to report its results for the second quarter of the year, used the word “rebound” three times in its earnings report, which it published on July 23. Since then, BNP Paribas has pointed to an “established rebound” in its results while HSBC has reported a “rebound” in profits in the US and Europe.

After several quarters of strong performance among European investment banking businesses, there are signs that firms are satisfied with cost cutting measures and are prepared to resume investment instead.

UBS opened the European bank earnings season on Tuesday with a strong set of results from its M&A and capital markets businesses, which CEO Ralph Hamers seized as an opportunity to play up the importance of talented bankers over the generous application of balance sheet.

US investment banks enjoyed a boost in earnings from their M&A bankers in the past quarter as a flurry of deal making made up for a return to more normal levels of debt issuance and trading.

Goldman Sachs celebrated its second highest ever firm-wide quarterly net revenues, net earnings and earnings per share on Tuesday. It set the as-yet unbeaten net revenue record in the first quarter of the year.