Hand-out
Two Canadian banks made the top 25 global rankings for investment banking fees earned, as BMO Nesbitt Burns jumped five spots to finish the first quarter at No. 23 while RBC Dominion Securities landed in 15th place.
BMO Nesbitt, the investment banking and securities arm of Bank of Montreal , brought in $160.1-million (U.S.) of fees in the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters. RBC, a unit of Royal Bank of Canada , earned $296.7-million.
The two banks were arguably the most aggressive of all big Canadian firms during the downturn, picking up staff from struggling U.S. and European competitors that were hard hit by the financial crisis, and the new staff appear to be bringing in business.
BMO has the added advantage of being a top bank in mining, one of the hot global sectors.
BMO has been reeling in the mandates, topping Canadian league tables for mergers and acquisitions last year as well as for equity underwriting.
So far this year, BMO has more high profile jobs, and they aren't limited to mining. The bank is advising on two of the huge exchange transactions underway right now. A team in BMO's Toronto office is advising TMX Group Inc. on its bid to combine with London Stock Exchange Group Plc, while a group of U.S.-based BMO banekrs are working for IntercontinentalExchange on its attempt to team up with Nasdaq OMX to buy NYSE Euronext.