Citic tops Asia-Pacific banking fees as mainland China and Hong Kong IPOs surge

Investment banking fees across Asia-Pacific excluding Japan reached US5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2026, with China’s Citic Securities ranking as the region’s top earner. The total in the first three months fell 5 per cent from a year earlier, as growth in equity capital markets underwriting was offset by weaker debt capital market and mergers and acquisitions (MA) activity, according to an LSEG Data and Analytics report on Thursday.