Securities Lending Revenue Rose 32% YOY in March 2022

NEW YORK (APRIL 4, 2022)—The global securities finance industry generated $2.17 billion in revenue for lenders in the first quarter of 2022, according to DataLend, the market data service of fintech EquiLend.  

The figure represents a 5% increase from the $2.07 billion generated in Q1 2021. Revenue from equities decreased by less than 1% year over year to $1.64 billion, while fixed income securities increased by 27% over the same time frame to $534 million. The revenue increase was attributed to corporate debt, where the average on-loan balances increased by 33% and the average fee increased by 59%. 

In March 2022 alone, the global securities finance industry generated $836 million in revenue for lenders. The figure represents a significant 32% increase year over year from the $632 million generated in March 2021.  

According to DataLend, the year-over-year increase in lender-to-broker revenue was primarily driven by North American equities, where continued demand in SPACs, IPOs and high-yield corporate debt ETFs drove up the average fee to 61 bps, a 30% increase over March 2021. 

Global broker-to-broker activity, where broker-dealers lend and borrow securities from each other, totaled an additional $251 million in revenue in March, a 1% increase from 2021. 

The top five earners in March 2022 were Lucid Group (LCID), Dutch Bros (BROS), Digital World Acquisition (DWAC), iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and Rivian Automotive (RIVN). The five securities in total generated over $58 million in revenue in the month.