Quarterly Market Insights
Investment Banking Market Insights
Q3 2026 at a glance
Our quarterly view of the deals, senior leadership moves and market trends shaping investment banking, M&A advisory and capital markets across Ireland, the UK, Europe and the U.S. Every edition is published here, on LinkedIn and as a downloadable report.
- $993bn global M&A in Q3, down 41% on Q2, with 2026 still up 28% year to date at $3.9tn, the highest since 2001.
- £75bn UK public M&A by the end of Q3, almost double 2025, with overseas buyers taking 94% of value.
- 6 acquisitions and team lifts of advisory firms tracked, including KeyCorp’s Clearwater and Houlihan Lokey’s Intrepid.
- 30+ senior appointments at Director level and above, including Barclays’ new investment bank co-CEO and a run of sector head moves in London.
- 2 major banks redrawing junior pathways, with Citi shortening its analyst programme and UBS testing AI proficiency.
Download the Q3 2026 report
The full Q3 2026 report includes every transaction and senior appointment we tracked this quarter, plus our market backdrop. Enter your details to download it.
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Phoenix Search runs senior searches across investment banking, M&A advisory, capital markets and corporate finance in Ireland, the UK, Europe and the U.S. Find out more about our investment banking executive search and London investment banking search practices, or contact Ed Rossiter and Jonathan Beall.
