Q1 2025 Review
The first quarter of 2025 was a period of heightened volatility and uncertainty for global markets, driven by a confluence of macroeconomic and geo-political factors.
The first quarter of 2025 was a period of heightened volatility and uncertainty for global markets, driven by a confluence of macroeconomic and geo-political factors.
Navigating short interest in the corporate bond market can be filled with risk. The lack of transparency and public reporting forces investors to use limited tools while today’s macroeconomic volatility provides prime conditions for short selling.
In Q1 2025, the lending of APAC equities bolstered revenue for the rest of the securities finance market by reporting a 29% increase in year-over-year revenue of $569 million.
In this edition, we explore Q1 2025 securities lending trends, spotlight APAC’s standout 27% revenue growth, introduce EquiLend’s Short Squeeze Score, examine corporate bond short interest signals and highlight Korean short selling performance.
EquiLend Short Squeeze Score | Designed to provide early warning signals of potential short squeezes, using both comprehensive securities finance data and social media sentiment data.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In his June 21, 2023, testimony before congress, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell referred to the central bank’s view of bank-run mechanics as “outdated.” His comments, which sought to address the events leading up to Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, allude to the fact that today, the genesis of financial panic is more likely to come from message boards than board rooms.
Discover stock utilization & other key securities lending metrics with DataLend’s comprehensive guide, revealing market trends in securities finance & cash markets.
Kickstarting in mid-March 2023, NGT, EquiLend’s renowned trading platform, launched an exciting new workflow for clients – Competitive Bid. In an effort to drive greater automation in the specials market, Competitive Bid allows both Lenders and Borrowers to indicate hard-to-borrow flags when they initiate trades.
In a volatile macroeconomic environment, the fixed income market continued its robust securities lending performance in Q1 2023, generating $666 million in revenue, up 25% YoY. The period continued to be characterized by rising interest rates and inflation, forcing fixed income yields up and presenting an opportunity for directional trading.
The Data and Analytics division of EquiLend has observed many revenue-impacting corporate events in recent years; Naspers in 2021 and 3M last year, to name a few.
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sent shockwaves throughout both the U.S. and global financial sector. While the 2023 banking crisis will likely not be a watershed of the same magnitude as the collapses of 2008, it was a true test of the system and unsurprisingly had a significant impact on the securities lending market.
With the last chapter of 2022 now written, volatility is beginning to feel like one of the only things investors can count on in an age of seemingly continuous market turbulence.
2022 was a big year for EquiLend’s data offerings. Building on the success of the award-winning DataLend platform, the new Data & Analytics Solutions division was launched to bring together all of EquiLend’s data and analytics services to create unprecedented and unique insights.
The WISF organization marked its 5th anniversary in 2022 by ringing the bell at the New York, Toronto and London Stock Exchanges, a momentous milestone and an important signal for any woman considering a career in the securities finance industry.
With Q3 in our rear view, a wide variety of asset classes were in play as volatile market conditions continued and recession concerns joined inflation headlines. In this past quarter, the securities lending market generated $2.63 billion, an increase of 12% over the same period in 2021.
One of the brightest spots in the securities finance market is activity related to initial public offerings (IPOs).
Funds Europe found in its recent survey of beneficial owners that these institutions view securities lending as an investment product and should in turn use independent securities lending data to optimize their programs, mitigate risk and support them in their fiduciary responsibilities.
The first half of 2019 has not been kind to the fixed income market, with total revenue down 30%.
Average duration is a measure of how long a trade is open, from the time that the security is borrowed to the time that it is returned back to the lender.
As summer 2019 drew to a close, DataLend reviewed trends that emerged throughout the season to see if the securities lending industry heated up along with the temperatures.
There has been substantial media coverage regarding the ongoing opioid crisis sweeping through America, from which headlines have begun to spill over into the financial world.
DataLend highlights the latest trends in securities finance in the Asia Pacific region.
DataLend highlights the latest trends in securities finance in the EMEA region.