Bank fees on leveraged lending hit four-year low

摘要

Bank fees from underwriting US leveraged loans surged in the second quarter from a five-year low in Q1 as issuance jumped, but ongoing bouts of volatility pressed this income down to a four-year low for the first half of 2016. New lending mounted as recession fears eased, oil prices stabilised and banks cleared a backlog of large loan commitments stalled by market turbulence that began late last year. The US$2.09bn of fees banks earned on leveraged lending in the second quarter topped meagre first-quarter income by 76%, according to Freeman Consulting Services. But the first quarter took a toll, and fees totalled a four-year low of US$3.28bn by the end of June, down 16.5% from the first half of last year.