Both debt and equity underwriting activity slipped in the first quarter, according to the latest data from Thomson Reuters. In a new report, the firm says that overall Canadian debt issuance totalled $38.5 billion in the first quarter of 2016, which is down 18% from the same period a year ago, but up 10.9% from the fourth quarter of 2015.
Over half of the new issue activity (56%) was in government and agency debt. On the corporate side, financials ranked second, with a 35% share, while the energy and power sector was a distant third place, at 4% market share.
Total Canadian equity issuance came in at $15.9 billion from 46 issues in the first quarter, according to the report. This was up sharply from the fourth quarter, but was down 3.1% from the same quarter in 2015.
The energy & power sector accounted for more than two thirds of new equity, generating proceeds of $10.7 billion in the first quarter; followed by materials with a 17% share; and, financials, which held a 5% share of the market.
The top equity underwriter of the first quarter this year was RBC Capital Markets, Thomson Reuters reports. RBC ranked first in Canadian equity, common stock, and secondary offerings, Scotiabank ranked first in underwriting preferred securities, and CIBC led the way in retail structured products.
BMO Capital Markets led the debt market league tables, National Bank ranked first in the Canadian government debt tables, and RBC came first in the domestic corporate debt rankings. Morgan Stanley placed first in Canadian cross border issuance, the report says.