Lowest IPO Levels In Five Years Hurting Universal Banks

Macquarie analysts anticipate one of the weakest IPO markets in the past five years, thus weighing on universal banks' results, unless large deals are priced and closed before March 31. David Konrad and Zev Zaretsky said in their March 23 research note titled “A Perfect Storm” that they expect Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to underperform peers in trading.

Unusually weak 1Q for universal banks

Konrad and Zaretsky point out that, unlike many other seasonally strong first quarters, 1Q16 turned out to be a rough start to the year with universal banks underperforming the S&P YTD. The analysts attribute the unusual performance to concerns about global growth, declining oil prices and concerns about potential growing use of negative rates around the world. The Macquarie analysts point out...