Wall Street banks widen lead as Europe’s investment banks struggle
U.S. banks took 51% of global fees last year, while Europe slipped to 21%, sharpening the gap that shapes pay, staffing and deal exposure at Goldman Sachs.
Wall Street’s lead over Europe’s investment banks has widened to a point that matters inside Goldman Sachs as much as on trading floors in London and Paris: U.S. banks now control 51% of global investment banking fees, while Europe has slipped to 21%.
That shift is more than a market-share stat. It reflects a deeper imbalance in capital, regulation and hiring power that can determine who gets the biggest mandates, who staffs the most complicated deals and where rising bankers see the best path to higher pay and faster promotion. European majors including BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank posted mixed first-quarter results in trading and advisory, while JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley delivered record sales, underscoring how scale is translating into revenue momentum for U.S. firms.
The pressure is especially visible in capital-heavy businesses such as M&A, debt underwriting and equity capital raising. Proposed changes to Basel III and the GSIB surcharge could reduce capital levels at Wall Street banks by about 4.8%, a change that would leave U.S. firms even better positioned to write larger balance sheets and push harder for client mandates. For bankers on the ground, that often means more deal flow, more exposure to marquee transactions and more room to build a résumé that travels well across New York, London and other financial centers.
Europe still has pockets of strength. Top European banks captured about 55% of the fee pool in their home market in the first half of 2025, their strongest regional share in nearly a decade. But the broader trend has been working against them: Europe’s share of global investment banking fees fell from 29% in 2015 to 21% last year, while U.S. banks’ share rose from 46% to 51%.
Goldman Sachs is leaning into that environment. The firm reported first-quarter 2026 net revenues of $17.23 billion and net earnings of $5.63 billion, with investment banking fees of $2.84 billion, up 48% from a year earlier. Global Banking & Markets generated $12.74 billion in net revenues, and David Solomon has said the firm expects momentum to accelerate in 2026. Goldman also said it reduced historical principal investments by more than 90% from roughly $64 billion to $6 billion since Investor Day 2020, while its stress capital buffer has fallen by a cumulative 320 basis points since 2020.
For Goldman employees, the message is clear: when U.S. firms have the larger platform, the better balance-sheet economics and the stronger fee pool, they can also win more of the work that drives bonus cycles, client access and long-term career mobility.
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