EquiLend: Securities Lending Revenue Rises to $5.2 Billion in H1 2025, Up 9% Over 2024
July 4, 2025
The global securities finance industry generated $5.2 billion in revenue for lenders in the first half of 2025, according to EquiLend Data & Analytics. The figure represents a 9% increase from the $4.8 billion generated in H1 of 2024, fueled by a late-March IPO that took center stage across the securities finance industry.
Global broker-to-broker activity, where broker-dealers lend and borrow securities from each other, accounted for an additional $1.6 billion in revenue for H1 2025, up 23% year-over-year.
This growth comes amid a complex macroeconomic environment of varied global monetary policies, where the Federal Reserve has maintained rates, while the ECB has continued its easing cycle with recent cuts bringing the deposit rate to 2.00%. Persistent market uncertainty driven by geopolitical factors, from tariffs to war, may have contributed to increased demand for specific securities from borrowers.
Global equity revenue increased by over 9% in H1 2025 from the first half of 2024 as a rise in balances of 13% was compounded by a marginal decrease in fees. Within the U.S., lending revenue for stocks rose by 4% year-over-year, with balances increasing by 13%. Asia was the largest overall contributor to the increased revenue within the equities market, improving 27% over the first half of 2024 as the short selling ban was lifted in South Korea at the end of Q1 and Hong Kong saw a 59% uptick in loan balances, which drove overall revenues higher.
The first half of 2025 saw a $111 million increase in global fixed income lending revenue, compared to the same period last year. Corporate and government debt instruments followed this trend, with rises of 8% and 10% respectively. The UK gilt market saw a notable rise in revenue, increasing by 48% year-over-year, which accounted for almost a quarter of the $82 million increase in government debt lending revenue from H1 2024.
Q2 of 2025 drove the improved H1 figures by generating $2.9 billion in revenue, up 15% year-over-year. While equities and fixed income saw substantial gains globally, a U.S.-listed IPO, CoreWeave Inc (CRWV US), produced AMC and APE levels of lending activity. The AI infrastructure firm generated over $167 million in lending revenue, which accounted for 44% of the global revenue increase for Q2.
In June, the global securities finance industry generated $1.1 billion in revenue for lenders, representing a 15% increase from May and a 39% increase year-over-year. Global equity revenue saw a 50% upward swing compared to 2024, and fixed income revenues rose a mere 8% in comparison.
The broker-to-broker market generated an additional $418 million in revenue in June, doubling that of the same period last year.
The top five earners in the securities lending market in June 2025 were CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV), Metaplanet Inc. (3350 JP), Rocket Companies Inc. (RKT), United Micro Electronics (UMC) and Venture Global Inc. (VG). The five securities in total generated nearly $195 million in revenue for the month.
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