June marked a strong close to the quarter for securities lending activity as NGT processed 4,188,714 trades representing $5.36 trillion in notional, making it the highest monthly notional print in platform history. The month also produced the highest single-day notional on record at $336.5 billion on June 22, capping a record Q2 2026 that totaled $14.58 trillion in notional.

The month-over-month move was broad-based. Total trades rose 11% month-over-month (equities up 12%, fixed income up 6%) and daily average trades were up 9%. Year-over-year, total trades were up 31% (equities up 35%, fixed income up 24%). Q2 2026 finished 4.5% above Q1 2026 on trade count (equities up 8.3%, fixed income down 4.4%) and 22.6% above Q2 2025.

U.S. equities were the primary driver, printing 2,137,452 trades (up 11% M/M) and $3.31 trillion in notional (up 16% M/M), with daily average notional of $157.6 billion. Notional outpaced trade count, pointing to larger average ticket sizes as institutions leaned further into risk. The rate band profile stayed familiar, with 29% of U.S. equity trade count above 50 bps and 12% in the 501 bps+ tier, reflecting persistent specials demand in the AI, semiconductor, biotech, and small cap technology names we have flagged through the year.

Canada was the standout region on the month, with equity trade counts up 19% month-over-month and notional up 53% month-over-month to $97 billion (daily average notional up 46%). Canada’s specials profile was the deepest of any region, with 62% of equity trades above 20 bps and 27% above 250 bps, driven by continued conviction across cannabis, mining, and small cap technology.

APAC extended its 2026 trend with equity trade counts up 11% month over month and notional up 17% month over month, and printed 36% of equity trades above 50 bps and 13% above 501 bps, anchored by Japanese onshore activity and the Korean semiconductor complex, including SK Hynix and Samsung. EMEA finished with equity trade counts up 19% month over month and notional up 8% month over month, though daily average equity notional was only up 3%, suggesting smaller average ticket sizes and a continued diversification bias toward European value and financials.