The global securities finance industry generated $895 million in revenue for lenders in May 2024, according to DataLend, the market data service of fintech EquiLend. The figure represents a 16% decrease from the $1.06 billion generated in May 2023.
Global broker-to-broker activity, where broker-dealers lend and borrow securities from each other, totaled an additional $247 million in revenue in May, down 3% year-over-year.
Themes from April continued into May with global equity lending revenue declining due to slower United States and EMEA markets. U.S. equity revenue fell 18% year-over-year due to a 23% dip in fees. In EMEA, equity revenues experienced a stark 38% downturn as fees dropped 32% year-over-year.
APAC equities were a bright spot in May with a 16% revenue increase on the back of a 20% improvement in fees. In the region, Taiwan (+69%), Hong Kong (+26%) and Japan (+20%) continued to drive strong performance. In Taiwan, a 61% increase in balances led to the boon, while in Japan and Hong Kong, fees (+43% and +19% respectively) were the driver for revenue.
Global fixed income revenue declined 13% year-over-year with government debt performance largely flat and a 35% drop in corporate debt revenue. Corporate debt revenues declined across ratings buckets, with investment-grade performance down 22% and high-yield revenues falling 10%. The average fee for corporate bonds fell 39% globally, the primary driver for the overall decrease in revenue.
The top five earning securities in May were Lucid Group Inc. (LCID US), Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT US), Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND US), ImmunityBio Inc. (IBRX US) and Enbridge Inc. NPV (ENB CN). The five securities in total generated $75 million in revenue for the month.