- Citi’s APAC investment-banking client revenues rose 33% in 2025 to US$514 million, its best regional result in more than a decade.
- Results were driven by strong M&A and equity-capital-markets activity, with Asian clients raising over US$250 billion globally.
- For 2026, Citi expects robust cross-border and sponsor-led M&A, expanding private credit, and continued demand in healthcare, TMT and AI.
- Outperformance in APAC IB will hinge on local execution, cross-border capability and sector depth, while regulation, geopolitics and market volatility remain key risks.
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Citi’s surge in Asia-Pacific investment banking revenues in 2025 reflects both favourable dealmaking conditions and successful strategic positioning. Raising US$514 million—a 33% increase over 2024—Citi reached its strongest regional IB performance in over a decade, with cross-border M&A emerging as the most significant driver of that growth. Equity capital markets also played a central role, especially via major listings in Hong Kong and India, involving more than US$250 billion raised globally for Asian clients.
Management’s forward-looking commentary identifies several durable trends for 2026: the persistence of strong M&A pipelines across all areas but particularly cross-border; sponsor activity will become more central; private credit will expand; and sectoral demand will concentrate in healthcare, technology, media and telecommunications, along with AI financing. These forecasts suggest Citi is capitalising not just on recovering markets and deal flow, but on structural shifts in capital allocation and financing modalities.
Regionally, the continued rebound in Hong Kong equity capital markets, strong activity in India and China, robust deal flow in Japan and Australia, and rising sponsor-led transactions indicate that geographic diversification is contributing meaningfully to Citi’s IB strength in APAC. GCC-Asia cross-border M&A is also emerging as a growth frontier, reflecting global investors’ increasing focus on Asia as a long-term growth engine.
From a competitive standpoint, these developments raise the bar for banks operating in APAC IB: firms with deep local deal execution capability, strong sector coverage (especially in TMT, healthcare, AI), smooth cross-border execution, and sponsor relationships are likely to outperform. Further, banks that tap into private credit and alternative financing vehicles may benefit from greater margins and differentiated offerings.
However, risks remain: regulatory challenges (e.g., cross-border M&A scrutiny, equity market supervision in key jurisdictions like Hong Kong and China), macroeconomic instability (inflation, interest rate regimes), geopolitical tensions (GCC, China, India relations), and capital market volatility are all potential headwinds. It remains to be seen whether Citi (and its peers) can sustain growth without encountering bottlenecks in deal funding, valuation pressures, or geopolitical risk shocks.
Open Questions:
- To what extent will rising global interest rates affect the attractiveness of ECM vs. private credit in 2026 for Asian issuers?
- How might regulatory tightening in China, India or Hong Kong disrupt cross‐border M&A flows?
- Will sponsor-led deals and private credit expansion result in overleverage or oversupply in certain markets, and what risk controls will banks need?
- How sustainable is Hong Kong’s market revival, especially considering competition from regional exchanges or regulatory tensions?
Supporting Notes
- Citi’s APAC investment banking client revenues in 2025 were US$514 million, up 33% from 2024, and represent its strongest regional performance in over ten years.
- M&A was the primary growth driver; equity capital markets were also strong, with Asian clients raising over US$250 billion globally.
- Forecasts for 2026 include continued strength in cross-border M&A (China-India, GCC-Asia), sector demand in healthcare, TMT, AI, and more activity in sponsor-led and private credit deals.
- Additional trends: Hong Kong’s market revival continuing, shift from A-shares to H-shares, few but larger IPOs in India, increased use of convertible bonds, and vibrant M&A in Japan and Australia.
- Management quotes include Jan Metzger: “The Investment Banking pipeline across this region is one of strongest I have seen on record. It’s across all areas really, but M&A is particularly strong”; Kaustubh Kulkarni emphasizing a “healthy mix” across sectors and sponsor activity as a key theme; Colin Banfield noting sustained multinational-led cross-border deals and resurgence of sponsors both buy- and sell-side.