The investment banks you should be working for in ECM and DCM

Capital markets investment bankers, unlike their counterparts in M&A, have enjoyed a prosperous 2013, according to new figures from Thomson Reuters. Equity capital markets in particular had a stellar year, with deal activity surging by 27% on 2012 and the final quarter up 73% on Q3.

Debt capital markets activity was more subdued, with fees dropping by 2% on 2012. High yield provided the one area of significant growth, increasing by 18.4% on the previous year.

As the rankings below show, Goldman Sachs has maintained its dominance in the equity markets, keeping the top spot and gaining an additional 2.3%, and JPMorgan is the biggest gainer, moving up from fourth to second last year. The DCM rankings have remained unchanged this year, with JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank maintaining the top three slots.

To speculate on employment prospects, however, it’s worth a look at how various banks have performed over the past few years. Thomson Reuters breaks out the rankings over the past decade.

The biggest loser in DCM since the financial crisis of 2008 has been Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which has been slowly sliding from the top spot to its current position of fifth. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank has been consistently climbing up the rankings since 2005 to its current second position and Morgan Stanley’s DCM bankers have also been increasing its rank since 2008. Goldman has also been steadily increasing its position since 2004.

In ECM, the most significant mover over the past few years has been UBS, which dropped from third in 2007 to sixth in 2013, despite recent gains. JPMorgan and Goldman, as well as Morgan Stanley, have been doing consistently well in ECM.