Societe Generale and Barclays continue to battle it out for the middle ground in European bank equity trading revenues, with the UK bank pushing back ahead after a Q3 lull.
Revenues declined somewhat across the board, with Barclays the only member of the cohort to see quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth – albeit mild at 2% to €807 million.
During Barclays’ results call, chief financial officer Anna Cross noted that prime and equity derivatives activity drove increased the sector’s year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth.
CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan added that equity derivatives are a focus area for the bank moving forward, with the goal of gaining market share.
Elsewhere, Venkatakrishnan highlighted equity capital markets as an area “where we need to do more catching up”.
Societe Generale’s chief financial officer Leopoldo Alvear attributed the 5% YoY decline to a high base rate in Q4 2024 and currency headwinds, along with geographic weightings towards Europe and Asia. The bank reported €789 million in equity trading revenues, a 4% QoQ dip.
While both Barclays and Societe Generale declined in tandem from Q1 2025, BNP Paribas’s revenues declined less steeply. The bank ended Q4 with €908 million in equity trading revenues, up 6% YoY.
UBS remained at the top of the table for the year, a status that has only been broken once in more than two years – by BNP Paribas in Q2 2024.
The bank’s €1.3 billion in equity trading revenues marked a 4.9% QoQ decline, but a 9% YoY increase.
“Equities rose 9% versus an exceptionally strong prior-year quarter, driven by prime brokerage, cash equities on record market share, and equity derivatives,” chief financial officer Todd Tucker affirmed during the bank’s results call.
“Looking ahead, we expect Global Markets to continue to perform well in the current market environment supported by enhanced market share in equities, FX and precious metals, and by taking advantage of our reinforced Global Research capabilities.”
Global markets VaR (quarterly 95% daily average) at Barclays was below the €26.4 million average in the quarter, while management VaR for equities (1-day, 95% confidence level, 5 years of historical data) at UBS, excluding certain legacy Credit Suisse components, was reported at €3.4 million as of 30 September 2025.
Using a 95% VaR will result in a lower figure than 99%.
