This earnings review analyzes the Q1 2022 performance of bulge bracket banks and advisory firms amid heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Investment banking activity slowed significantly as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, market volatility, and inflation weighed on global dealmaking. As a result, major banks reported an average 37% year-over-year decline in investment banking revenues, contrasting sharply with the strong results achieved in Q1 2021, when favorable market conditions supported robust transaction activity. While inflation created challenges for capital markets and advisory businesses, it also presented opportunities through rising interest rates, which were expected to boost banks’ net interest income. Investors increasingly focused on banks’ ability to benefit from

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