Discover your dream Career
For Recruiters

What Citi and JPMorgan results say about banking jobs in 2022

It's U.S. banks' results time. Both JPMorgan and Citi have reported today. Both banks have done well, but the results aren't unequivocally positive.

Speaking during today's investor call, JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum said the bank is expecting a "“modest normalization of the wallet" in terms of investment banking fees in 2022. In the worst case scenario, Barnum said both markets and investment banking revenues could fall to 2019 levels, but this isn't expected.  "Our central case now is that we see some normalization from the exceptionally strong performance in both IBD and in markets," said Barnum. "But we are expecting that normalization to be less." In equities, he said JPMorgan has gained market share. In the investment banking division, he said the pipeline is strong. And in fixed income sales and trading, he said 2022 revenues should be given impetus by increasing rates and rising volatility. 

Beyond Barnum's statements, there are additional learnings from the performance of both banks' businesses in the past quarter. 

M&A advisory: Strong ongoing growth at JPMorgan, less so at Citi 

After a strong end to the year, first quarter hiring is likely to remain strong in M&A, particularly at JPMorgan. Citi's M&A bankers underperformed by comparison. 

Equity capital markets (ECM): Weakening growth between the third and fourth quarters

Equity capital markets increased year-on-year in the fourth quarter at both banks, but not quarter-on-quarter. Expect some pull back from hiring in Q1 as banks wait to see whether ECM revenues shrink again.

 

Debt capital markets (DCM): Declining quarter on quarter revenues at Citi in Q4

DCM revenues were more of a mixed bag. While they declined quarter-on-quarter at Citi in the three months to December, they rose at JPMorgan. At both banks, however, they were up on 2020. Hiring here may remain strong, but is unlikely to be a priority.

Equities sales and trading: softening, except in prime 

Both Citi and JPMorgan saw equities sales and trading revenues soften in the final quarter. This could lead to hesitation about hiring in early 2022. The big exception is in prime services, where revenues rose at both banks. This look bad for Credit Suisse, which closed its prime broking business last year.

Fixed income sales and trading: A poor quarter, but optimism about the future

Both banks had a poor quarter in fixed income sales and trading. However, as Barnum said, fixed income sales and trading (particularly macro trading) is expected to be a strong performer in 2022 as rates rise. Banks may therefore hire in Q1 in anticipation of this - or they may wait to see how things pan out.

Photo by petr sidorov on Unsplash

Download our full salary and bonus survey here. 

Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com in the first instance. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram also available (Telegram: @SarahButcher)

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.

author-card-avatar
AUTHORSarah Butcher Global Editor

Sign up to Morning Coffee!

Coffee mug

The essential daily roundup of news and analysis read by everyone from senior bankers and traders to new recruits.

Boost your career

Find thousands of job opportunities by signing up to eFinancialCareers today.
Recommended Articles
Latest Jobs
Funds Partnership Asia
Regulatory Compliance Associate
Funds Partnership Asia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Public Bank Berhad
Credit Officers
Public Bank Berhad
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Public Bank Berhad
IT Risk Manager
Public Bank Berhad
Malaysia
QBE Insurance
Regional - Data Analyst
QBE Insurance
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
QBE Insurance
Specialist, Broker Distribution Management, Corporate
QBE Insurance
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Sign up to Morning Coffee!

Coffee mug

The essential daily roundup of news and analysis read by everyone from senior bankers and traders to new recruits.