The global securities finance industry generated $690 million in revenue for lenders in April 2021, according to DataLend, the market data division of fintech EquiLend.
The figure represents a 9% increase from the $632 million generated for lenders in March 2021 and a 20% increase year over year from the $574 million generated in April 2020.
Global broker-to-broker activity, where broker-dealers lend and borrow securities from each other, totaled an additional $198 million in revenue in April, a 9% increase from 2020.
According to DataLend, European equity revenue was suppressed in 2020 following the short-selling bans in the region. As a result, European equity revenue was up 23% year over year. In April 2021, global equities saw an increase of $85 million in revenue generated, or 19% year over year.
In the fixed income market, global revenue generated from government debt increased 25%, while corporate debt increased 28% over 2020.
The top five earners in April 2021 were Blink Charging (BLNK), Volvo AB Class B (VOLVB SS), Social Cap Hedosophia Holdings (IPOE), Futu Holdings (FUTU) and iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG). The five securities in total generated over $38 million in revenue in the month.