Despite a weak fourth quarter, Canadian equities markets saw a sharp jump in new issue activity in 2023, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
Total equity issuance jumped 37% last year to $17.7 billion, the firm reported. That large increase came despite a drop in the number of deals, which were down 19% year over year.
The solid gain for the year also came in the face of the fourth quarter, which saw issuance drop 47% from the previous quarter, LSEG said.
The energy & power sector led new issue activity for 2023 overall, raising 53% of total proceeds. The materials sector ranked second at 17%, followed by the industrials sector with a 7% share.
BMO Capital Markets led the overall equity league tables, supplanting RBC Capital Markets, which dropped to second.
TD Securities Inc. jumped to third place from sixth in 2022, while Scotiabank remained in fourth place and CIBC World Markets dropped to fifth place from third in the previous year.
Scotia led the rankings for preferred securities issuance, CIBC was first in retail structured products, and Canaccord Genuity and Citi were co-leaders for initial public offerings, LSEG noted.
LSEG also reported that debt issuance rose by 19% in 2023 to $218.9 billion. The number of deals was up 28% year over year, it said.
For debt underwriting, RBC took first place overall, followed by TD, CIBC, Scotia, and BMO. National Bank Financial slipped to sixth position last year from first in 2022.
TD led in government debt, whereas RBC was first in the Canadian corporate debt market.