Canadian underwriting activity advanced in 2019, with both debt and equity issuance rising, according to new data from financial markets data firm Refinitiv.
Led by a rise in secondary offerings, Canadian equity issuance rose by 3% in 2019 to $28.9 billion, the firm reported.
Secondary offerings jumped by 14% from the previous year, while common stock issuance surged by 10%.
The real estate sector led the way with $8 billion in new equity raised, followed by the retail and healthcare sectors.
Oddly, the rise in Canadian equity underwriting was led by a Wall Street firm.
Morgan Stanley ranked first in the industry league tables, up from eighth place in 2018.
Notably, it led in secondary offerings, primarily due to its role running deals for Restaurant Brands International.
RBC Capital Markets ranked second, followed by BMO Capital Markets, CIBC World Markets and TD Securities Inc.
BMO led in Canadian initial public offerings, and Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. was the top underwriter for retail structured products, with a dominant 32.5% market share.
Debt underwriting was up by 5% in 2019 to $175.6 billion, Refinitiv said.
RBC led the debt league tables, followed by National Bank Financial, and CIBC.
Over half (55%) the debt activity came from government and agency offerings.
The financial sector was the biggest source of corporate issuance, followed by the energy and power sector.
Correction: A previous version of this story erroneously referred to Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. as Canaccord Financial Inc.