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pulse

September 7, 2017 10:40 PM

Investment banking revenues at the top-12 banks hit $82 billion during the first half of 2017.

Business is up on Wall Street, but not nearly enough to start popping bottles.

Investment banking revenues at the top-12 banks hit $82 billion during the first half of 2017, a

That's a 4% increase from last year, but still a yawning gap from the performance of 2012 to 2015, when first-half sales never dipped below $91.5 billion.

And while first-half performance so far is beating 2016, that's mostly thanks to a strong first quarter. Second-quarter revenues were ugly, coming in at $39.5 billion, or 5% less than the year prior.

Here's the full breakdown:

Wall Street revenues so far have eclipsed the torpid pace set in 2016, thanks to a 19% gain on the investment banking side. Equities performance lagged though.

The second-quarter, however, saw a 5% dip from 2016 thanks to a steep drop off in fixed income revenue.

Overall, fixed income revenues were up slightly in the first half, hitting $38.5 billion. The division had been on a steady decline since 2012. Commodities hit $1.3 billion, the lowest level since 2006 thanks to continued struggles in energy and natural gas.

Equities revenues are down from 2016, with cash equities — which fell $400 million or 8% from 2016 — responsible for most of the drag.

Investment banking was the bright spot. Revenues reached $21 billion, a 19% jump from 2016, thanks to healthy rebounds in both equity and debt capital markets.

The staff downsizing trend continued unabated, though less rapidly than prior years. Headcount has fallen 20% since 2012, from 65,400 to 52,600.

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