EquiLend: Q3 2025 Securities Lending Revenue Totals $3.51 Billion, Up 41% from Q3 2024
Global broker‑to‑broker activity surges 71% YoY; North America and APAC lead equity lending growth as loan balances hit record highs
October 3, 2025
The global securities finance industry generated $3.51 billion in revenue for lenders in the third quarter of 2025, according to EquiLend Data and Analytics. The figure represents a 41% increase from the $2.49 billion generated in Q3 2024 and brings the year-to-date total to $8.72 billion, a 20% increase from the first three quarters of 2024.
Global broker-to-broker activity, where broker-dealers lend and borrow securities from each other, generated an additional $1.11 billion in revenue during Q3, a 71% increase year-over-year.
Equity revenue rose 55% in North America, 60% in APAC and 31% in EMEA compared to the same period last year. Rising loan balances were the primary driver, with all regions experiencing over 20% gains as major equity indices reached all-time highs, attracting opportunistic short sellers and retail investors alike. EMEA was the sole region to observe a reduction in average fees, while North America and APAC increased by 23% and 24%, respectively.
Global fixed income lending revenue increased by 5% in Q3 year-over-year. The modest improvement was driven by an 11% increase in lending balances, which offset a 7% reduction in average fees. With the United States Federal Reserve and European Central Bank expecting to implement further rate cuts, short-term yields and financing costs in government debt declined, resulting in an 8% increase in loan balances. Similarly, corporate bond balances increased by 23%, but tightening credit spreads, especially for investment-grade bonds, resulted in a 12% year-over-year reduction in average fees.
In September 2025, the global securities finance industry generated $1.1 billion in revenue for lenders. The figure represents a 35% increase year-over-year from the $817 million generated in September 2024. The increase was driven by a double-digit increase in both fees and loan balances for the U.S., Hong Kong, Japanese and Korean equity markets. Powered by meme stocks in the US, a robust IPO market in Hong Kong, political uncertainty in Japan, and a short-selling return in South Korea, the lending performance across the four markets resulted in a $272 million increase, or 96% of the total year-over-year change.
Broker-to-broker activity totaled an additional $352 million in revenue in September, a 65% increase year-over-year.
The top five earners in September 2025 were Lucid Group (LCID US), Foot Locker (FL US), Rocket Companies (RKT US), Guotai Junan Intl (1788 HK) and Contemporary Amperex Technology (3750 HK). In total, the group generated $86 million in revenue in the month.
Bloomberg Terminal users can subscribe to EquiLend Orbisa’s exclusive short selling and financing data by entering APPS ORBISA <GO> on the Bloomberg terminal or clicking here.