September 14, 2026
According to CNBC's September 14 report, Bank of America expects third-quarter investment banking fees to fall more than 10% from a year earlier, with trading revenue roughly flat. That follows second-quarter growth of 50% and 33%, respectively, which is quite a change in tone for one quarter. CEO Brian Moynihan said industry investment banking activity was down about 10%, citing Dealogic, and that BofA was less exposed to the businesses seeing more activity. Shares fell about 5% in afternoon trading. The comparison that makes this interesting came later that day: Citi projected low-single-digit growth in investment banking revenue and mid-single-digit growth in trading. Same quarter, different outlooks. Both were still forecasts, with several weeks of business left to finish.
The bigger read is that an industry fee pool tells you how much business is available across the market. Each bank's results depend on which pieces it actually wins. Investment banking includes M&A advice, equity issuance, and debt issuance, and those businesses can move at different speeds. If companies keep refinancing bonds while postponing IPOs, a bank with strong debt underwriting relationships could hold up better than one counting on equity deals. Sector exposure matters too: a busy healthcare franchise does little for a competitor whose clients are mostly sitting on technology transactions. Those are possible explanations for banks diverging; CNBC's article does not establish the exact mix behind Citi's relative strength. Moynihan's comments do, however, make positioning part of BofA's own explanation.
There is also the question of what else a bank sells. A full-service bank can advise on an acquisition, help finance it, and handle the client's cash management. An advisory-focused firm relies more heavily on winning mandates through relationships and sector expertise; firms with restructuring practices may also find work when borrowers run into trouble. Those differences shape both revenue exposure and the pitch to clients. Then there is timing, the less glamorous explanation that can still move a quarter. A large acquisition closing in October instead of September can push a completion fee into the next reporting period. Moynihan pointed to a healthy pipeline, especially in middle-market banking, but a pipeline still has to turn into completed work. Unfortunately, being very busy is not an accounting line item.
This could be a useful topic for interviews because it connects a market headline to how the firm across the table makes money. For a question about news you are following, start with BofA's warning and Citi's different outlook, then explain the factors you would investigate: product mix, client sectors, major deal closings, and the comparison with last year's quarter. For a why-this-bank answer, connect the discussion to a business the firm actually has and a transaction you have researched. Saying every bank benefits equally from an M&A recovery skips the interesting part: who has the mandates, who provides the financing, and when the fees arrive. The headline gives you an opening. Being able to explain those differences gives the interviewer something worth asking you about.
Source: Hugh Son and Ritika Shah, "Bank of America expects third-quarter investment banking fees to fall more than 10%; shares slide," CNBC, September 14, 2026.