Only Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Nomura didn't mention cost cuts in Q4

Most top US banks and most top European banks have now announced their third quarter results. It was not a bad quarter, particularly if you had the good fortune to work in prime broking, equities sales and trading or equity capital markets (ECM) - Morgan Stanley’s ECM business excepted.

💥Follow us on WhatsApp for news alerts.💥

The chart at the bottom of this page shows performance by bank and by business. The final three months of this year aren’t expected to go badly. Nor, however, are they expected to go extremely well.

Markets revenues are expected to fall in line with standard seasonality in Q4, but Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered have both flagged weakness in Asia. Morgan Stanley said Asian trading volumes “were drying up” in September, and Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters pointed to “particularly weak equity markets in Asia” so far this quarter.

Meanwhile the investment banking pipeline looks less buoyant than earlier in the year at Goldman Sachs, where the backlog has slipped since the end of 2025, and at Citi, which expects fees to come in below 2026’s near-record pace. JPMorgan said its pipeline slowed in the second half of September. It’s “like an accordion”, said Jamie Dimon. - It can suddenly expand; it can also suddenly contract.

In the circumstances, it’s perhaps unsurprising that banks are still focused on cutting costs and maximising efficiencies. UBS has a further $500m of cuts to make in the fourth quarter based upon its target. HSBC has $100m of its $2bn of cuts to go. BNP Paribas’s 2026 guidance implies another €160m of cost savings in Q4. Citi brought forward $500m of investment and severance spending into the second half, about half of which is still to come. Barclays expects to spend around $400m in Q4 on cost actions involving the removal of 5,000 jobs, of which 60% will be in support functions. Standard Chartered is wrapping up its Fit for Growth cost programme, on which it has spent $377m so far this year.

Deutsche Bank’s CFO Raja Akram said yesterday its €21.3bn full-year cost guidance includes “severance charges”, and that it has “a few more actions we can execute in the fourth quarter that would actually be a benefit to us in 2027 and 2028”. However, Raja was referring to the private bank rather than the investment bank. CEO Christian Sewing said AI and “workforce” measures offer further cost upside, with details promised alongside full-year results in January.

Not all the extracted costs will come from lost jobs, but it could be a busy few months for HR teams. As at Barclays, middle and back office staff are most at risk from “efficiency driven by AI.”

Some banks didn’t flag cost cutting in their third quarter results, though. Neither Goldman Sachs, nor JPMorgan, nor Morgan Stanley, nor Nomura mentioned cost-cutting plans in the coming quarter. This doesn’t mean they won’t cut costs. It does, perhaps, mean that jobs will be safest there until at least Christmas.

Investment bank performance by bank and business, Q3 2026

Third-quarter 2026 revenues in US$, and change versus Q3 2025.

Total investment banking fees

Goldman Sachs: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $3.22bn, +21%

JPMorgan: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $3.00bn, +14%

Morgan Stanley: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $2.16bn, +2%

Bank of America: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $1.82bn, -11%

Citi: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $1.35bn, +9%

Wells Fargo: 🟦🟦🟦 $908m, +10%

Barclays: 🟦🟦🟦 $879m, +1%

UBS: 🟦🟦 $670m, -21%

Deutsche Bank: 🟦🟦 $583m, -1%

HSBC*: 🟦 $255m, +12%

Standard Chartered*: 🟦 $89m, -3%

Mergers and acquisitions advisory

Goldman Sachs: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $1.65bn, +18%

JPMorgan: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $1.22bn, +32%

Morgan Stanley: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $887m, +30%

Bank of America: 🟦🟦🟦 $471m, -19%

Citi: 🟦🟦🟦 $406m, -4%

Barclays: 🟦🟦 $297m, +13%

UBS: 🟦 $181m, -44%

Deutsche Bank: 🟦 $124m, +17%

Wells Fargo: no $ figure published, +30%

Equity capital markets (ECM)

Goldman Sachs: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $666m, +43%

JPMorgan: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $564m, +7%

Morgan Stanley: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $525m, -19%

Bank of America: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $395m, +9%

Citi: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $343m, +77%

Barclays: 🟦🟦 $117m, +23%

Deutsche Bank: 🟦🟦 $97m, +62%

Wells Fargo: no $ figure published, +33%

Debt capital markets (DCM)

JPMorgan: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $1.22bn, +4%

Bank of America: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $958m, -14%

Goldman Sachs: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $904m, +15%

Morgan Stanley: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $747m, -3%

Citi: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $601m, -3%

Barclays: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $465m, -8%

Deutsche Bank: 🟦🟦🟦🟦 $362m, -14%

Equities sales and trading

Goldman Sachs: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $6.44bn, +72%

Morgan Stanley: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $5.80bn, +41%

JPMorgan: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $4.95bn, +49%

Bank of America: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $2.51bn, +11%

UBS: 🟦🟦🟦🟦 $2.01bn, +21%

Citi: 🟦🟦🟦 $1.73bn, +14%

BNP Paribas: 🟦🟦🟦 $1.68bn, +48%

Barclays: 🟦🟦🟦 $1.35bn, +47%

Wells Fargo: 🟦 $543m, +21%

FICC sales and trading

JPMorgan: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $5.37bn, -4%

Citi: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $4.39bn, +4%

Goldman Sachs: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $3.47bn, -1%

Deutsche Bank: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $2.75bn, -5%

Bank of America: 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦 $2.56bn, -17%

Morgan Stanley: 🟦🟦🟦🟦 $2.01bn, -7%

BNP Paribas: 🟦🟦🟦 $1.40bn, -2%

Barclays: 🟦🟦🟦 $1.36bn, -19%

Wells Fargo: 🟦🟦🟦 $1.26bn, -7%

UBS: 🟦 $540m, +1%

Sources: company Q3 2026 results. Barclays converted from sterling at its average GBP/USD rate (1.34 in Q3 2026, 1.35 in Q3 2025); Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas converted from euros at ECB average rates (1.1505 and 1.1681), so their growth rates include currency moves (in euros: Deutsche FICC -3%, advisory +19%, ECM +65%, DCM -12%, total +1%; BNP FICC -0.5%, equities +50%). UBS FICC is Foreign Exchange, Rates and Credit; UBS total fees are underlying Global Banking. Bank of America fees include self-led deals in the product lines. *HSBC and Standard Chartered fee lines are not like-for-like (HSBC Investment Banking line; Standard Chartered Capital Markets and Advisory). Wells Fargo publishes M&A and ECM growth only.

Follow me on X. Follow me on LinkedIn. 

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Signal: sarahbutcher.22  Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com. 

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: comments are moderated intermittently by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You must take sole responsibility for comments you post on this site. We will take reasonable steps to weed out anything that we consider to be offensive or inappropriate