The global securities finance industry generated $1.06 billion in revenue for lenders in May 2023, according to DataLend, the market data service of fintech EquiLend. The figure represents a 15% increase from the $923 million generated in May 2022.
Global broker-to-broker activity, where broker-dealers lend and borrow securities from each other, totaled an additional $255 million in revenue in May, a 5% increase year-over-year.
Month-over-month, the $1.06 billion in revenue generated for lenders in May represents a 1% increase from the $1.05 billion generated for lenders in April 2023.
According to DataLend, the improvement in lender-to-broker revenue over 2022 was largely due to an increase in borrowing fees. Globally, across all asset classes, fees climbed 19% year-over-year and were roughly flat from April.
A strong market for US stocks drove a 26% increase in North American equity revenue. Equity performance was less robust in other regions, with APAC revenue rising 3% and EMEA revenue decreasing 5% year-over-year (yoy). Securities trading “special,” where fees meet or exceed 500 basis points (bps), generated $553 million.
The top five earners in May 2023 were AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC), Lucid Group (LCID), AXA SA (CS FP), Fisker Inc (FSR) and BNP Paribas (BNP FP). Revenue generated by AMC cooled significantly, down 53% month-over-month, to $46 million. In total, the group generated $124 million in revenue in the month.
Performance for corporate and government debt continued a strong run, with year-over-year revenue improvements of 61% and 16%, respectively.