Three Investment Banks Dominate Capital Markets Activities
Market intelligence provider Tricumen analyzed the operating revenue per front-office full-time employee of big investment banks in H1 2026. The results indicate that only three banks, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, can be considered 'above average' in performance for capital markets activities.
The charts show that these three banks are significantly outperforming their peers. For example, within sales & trading, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan's fixed income, currencies, and commodities traders performed well. Within equities, both JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley's equities traders were well above average.
Goldman Sachs was the best bank for 'banking' specifically, with revenue growing by 52% compared to H1 last year. This growth occurred despite a reduction in headcount from 47,000 to 46,200 during the same period.