Thursday, January 25, 2018 Stamford, CT USA — Banks around the world are upgrading—or at the very least, maintaining—the talent and technology of their fixed-income platforms to take full advantage when volatility and client trading activity and revenues return. 

The largest and highest-rated of these platforms belong to Citi and J.P. Morgan. Citi ranks No. 1 for the third consecutive year in terms of global fixed-income market share, with J.P. Morgan placing second. Goldman Sachs holds the No. 3 spot, followed by Barclays in fourth place and Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, which are tied for fifth. These banks are the 2017 Greenwich Share Leaders in Overall Global Fixed Income. 

Citi and J.P. Morgan are also the 2017 Greenwich Quality Leaders in Overall Fixed Income Service, leading all competitors in client rankings of service quality in the Greenwich Associates annual Global Fixed-Income Investors Study. Citi wins the title of Quality Leader in both Global Fixed-Income Sales and Trading for the second year in a row, while J.P. Morgan is the 2017 Quality Leader in Global Fixed-Income Research. 

Investments in Fixed Income, Industry-wide and Around the World
Recent action by the U.S. Federal Reserve has banks hoping that a long-awaited turn in the interest-rate cycle has begun, and that a pickup in volatility and trading volume could be on the horizon. “Banks both large and small are preparing to capitalize on any favorable changes to the business environment,” says Greenwich Associates Managing Director Frank Feenstra.

In Europe, some of the region’s largest banks have recovered from post-crisis stumbles and are committing to the fixed-income business with increased strategic focus and staffing. In both Europe and North America, banks not usually considered bulge-bracket players are investing and looking to expand—not only in their home markets, but also internationally.