The last broker-dealer was always going to feel the pain of a continuing capital markets slowdown, but sales and trading has provided a useful fillip.

The first nine months of 2022 have seen investment banking revenues plummet globally.

The last big Wall Street broker-dealer has had a spectacular run in the last 20 years. It now wants to build ‘the best world-class global investment bank’.

Equity capital markets and advisory revenues were the standout numbers at Jefferies in 2021, and the firm says its pipeline remains strong.

SMBC’s tie-up with Jefferies is only the latest in a series of acquisitions, partnerships and initiatives it has undertaken from India to Vietnam to Wall Street. Now, says president and chief executive Jun Ohta, it is time to make them work.

There’s a clear role model for US-Japan tie-ups in New York investment banking. Can the new partnership between Jefferies and SMBC follow it?

The broker-dealer posted stellar investment banking and markets numbers for 2020 – and reckons this is just the start.

The US investment bank is finally enjoying the fruits of a decade of investment in Asia. It has spent big to hire the bankers and analysts it needs to drive deal activity in China, Japan and Australia. Now the hard part starts – making money.