US banks' advisory fees jumped 68%

Advisory fees at major U.S. banks jumped in the first quarter as mergers picked up after two slow years. (x.com) The industry’s advisory pool rose 68% from a year earlier to about $4.8 billion in the first three months of 2026, according to the Financial News report on April 16. Advisory fees are the payments banks collect for helping companies buy, sell, or merge with other businesses. (x.com) The rebound showed up in bank earnings this week. JPMorgan said investment-banking fees rose 28% year over year, helped by stronger advisory and equity-capital-markets activity, while Goldman Sachs said investment-banking fees rose 48% on significantly higher advisory revenue tied to completed mergers and acquisitions. (jpmorganchase.com, goldmansachs.com) Citigroup reported banking fees up 12% and called it a record first quarter in mergers and acquisitions. Chief executive Jane Fraser said the bank was “off to an exceptionally strong start in 2026” even as clients operated in “uncertain times.” (citigroup.com) The shift follows a long dry spell in dealmaking. Higher interest rates, tougher antitrust scrutiny, and volatile markets froze many boardroom decisions through 2024 and much of 2025, leaving advisory bankers with thinner pipelines and fewer completed transactions. (ft.com, lseg.com) What changed in early 2026 was completion. Goldman said its fee jump reflected a significant increase in completed merger volume, which matters because banks usually book the biggest advisory fees when deals close, not when they are announced. (goldmansachs.com) The recovery was still uneven. Goldman said its investment-banking backlog slipped slightly from the end of 2025, a sign that fresh mandates did not rise as fast as first-quarter closings, even as the firm ranked No. 1 in announced and completed mergers and acquisitions. (goldmansachs.com) Executives paired the stronger fee numbers with warnings about the backdrop. Jamie Dimon said the U.S. economy faced an “increasingly complex set of risks,” and Goldman chief executive David Solomon said “the geopolitical landscape remains very complex.” (jpmorganchase.com, goldmansachs.com) That leaves Wall Street with a better first quarter and a less certain second one. Banks have more evidence that corporate buyers are returning, but they are still telling investors that wars, regulation, rates, and market swings can delay deals just as quickly as they revive them. (jpmorganchase.com, goldmansachs.com, citigroup.com)