HSBC dominates as Mena investment banking fees soar

• Fees hit $372m in Q1
• HSBC remains highest earner
• Only 3 Mena banks in top 10

Investment banking fee revenue in the Middle East and North Africa soared during the first quarter thanks to record debt arrangements, increased mergers and acquisitions and more initial public offerings.

The industry’s regional earnings underline the growing importance of the Mena region to international banks, although the revenue from fees remains a fraction of those in the likes of North America, Europe and East Asia.

Led by HSBC, Mena investment banking fees totalled $372 million in the first three months of 2025, according to a report by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). That is up 25 percent versus the year-earlier period, and the third-highest first quarter since LSEG’s records began in 2000.

HSBC retained top spot in fee rankings, earning $47 million, three quarters more than the year before and equivalent to 13 percent of the regional quarterly total.

Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered were ranked second and third. Dubai’s Emirates NBD was fourth with $21 million, while First Abu Dhabi Bank and Saudi National Bank were the only other Mena-based banks to make the top 10.

Debt capital markets underwriting fees totalled $152 million, up 6 percent year on year, and were the top contributor to total earnings. Next were merger and acquisition advisory fees, which totalled $93 million as the value of announced deals with any Mena involvement soared to $66 billion.

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Equity capital markets fees, which banks earn through helping companies conduct IPOs or sell more shares, more than doubled to $70 million. There were 12 IPOs in the first quarter, up from nine a year earlier.

Syndicated lending fees were the outlier, declining by nearly half to $57 million in the first quarter.