Awards for Excellence 2020
Goldman Sachs’s first ever investor day in January 2020 might have left more questions than answers around the firm’s forays into the brave new worlds of consumer and transaction banking. But one thing was unshakeable – its investment bank franchise. This year it is our choice as the US’s best investment bank.
Revenues across investment banking and markets rose 27% year on year in the first quarter of 2020, and were up 12% on a 12-month basis, the best among the US firms. Pre-tax profits were up 36% and 7%, respectively.
Goldman’s fixed income trading business – a laggard in recent years – was up 30% in the last 12 months compared to the previous 12-month period, among the best performances in the sector, and equities was up 12%.
The firm’s dominance in advisory is long-standing and seemingly unthreatened. For the period under review, it had almost half the market of announced M&A transactions and 40% of completed.
The list is long, but highlights were advising Willis Towers Watson on its proposed merger with Aon and Total System Services’ completed merger with Global Payments.