While global securities lending revenue faced headwinds in 2024, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region showed resilience, experiencing a comparatively modest 1.8% year-over-year (YoY) decline to $2.1 billion. The majority of revenue was generated by equities, contributing $2 billion, representing a 0.3% YoY decline. A 3.3% increase in fees was offset by a 3.8% decrease in on-loan balances.

As U.S. equity markets rallied in 2024, securities lending revenue for U.S. equities faced significant challenges, with Q4 revenue down 7% year-over-year (YoY), contributing to a total annual decline of 17%. A 22% drop in fees drove the decrease and offset a 5% increase in balances, which was driven by increased valuations.

After aggressively hiking interest rates to a 10-year high of 5.5%, the U.S. Federal Reserve started 2024 in a holding-pattern of sorts. Inflation measures were cooling, but the American consumer was still feeling the pain of high prices.

With two months now elapsed since the 2024 U.S. presidential election, policy shifts planned by the incoming administration have begun to come into focus, and broader financial markets have reacted in kind. While the implications of a potentially dramatic shift are only beginning to be realized, there are key signals and themes which can already be observed within the securities finance market.

U.S. equities, which generated 44% of global securities finance revenue, continued to cool year-over-year. With a strong run for U.S. stocks, one that has seen a 20% return for the S&P 500 year-to-date, and inflation concerns beginning to abate, the “Specials” side of the U.S. securities lending market has been understandably quieter after an economically tumultuous 2023.

With diverse businesses and roles within the securities lending marketplace, all having unique data requirements, users need access to customizable and dynamic tools that cater to their needs.

September 19th, 2024, marked the first time the Federal Reserve cut interest rates since March 2020. They set the new target rate between 4.75% and 5.00%, a reduction of 50 bps from the previous level of 5.25% to 5.50%.

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region saw the steepest decline in lending revenue in Q3 2024, with revenue dropping by 7.2% YoY to $560 million.

As the second quarter ends, EquiLend Data & Analytics looks back on the performance of the securities lending market during an eventful three-month period.

The T+1 settlement cycle, implemented in the US on 28th May 2024 and in Canada on 27th May 2024, has sent ripples through the financial system, and the world of securities lending is no exception.

The first half of 2024 offered a host of trending securities which helped drive volumes and ultimately revenue in the securities finance market.

The new and improved Data & Analytics User Interface has been designed with client feedback in mind, delivering a user-friendly UI which provides access to more data than ever before.

In the decade since DataLend launched, the regulatory landscape of the securities finance industry has changed dramatically with MIFID I and II, CSDR and SFTR adding greater transparency across the sector.

The APAC region has been a hot topic for the securities lending industry for many years, with markets in the region being characterized by varying tax treatments, settlement requirements, collateral margins, and short selling restrictions.

A sleepy IPO market is beginning to stir; DataLend looks at the impacts of IPOs in securities lending.

As the second quarter concludes, we can reflect on an eventful first half of 2023 marked by a banking crisis, a resurgence in meme stock activity and persistent interest rate hikes to battle global inflation.

Standards and accuracy are important factors in any data offering, but especially when using this data to measure performance and understand revenue relative to peers.

Equities market performance has been something of a pleasant surprise in the first half of 2023. In the U.S. market, the S&P 500 closed out the 2nd quarter roughly 16% higher than its mark from the start of the year.