Sales volumes of structured products in the US market in the second quarter of 2017 almost doubled compared to the same period last year. At US$16.2bn, sales in the quarter were up 65% from the $9.9bn recorded the previous year. Issuance, at 4,048 products, also saw a significant increase from the second quarter of 2016 when 2,655 products were distributed.

Goldman Sachs was the most prolific distributor in terms of structured product sales in the second quarter. The bank reported a 85% increase in sales figures, while Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Citi each saw their sales volumes increase too.

SRP reviews the data and the financial results of the top six US structured products manufacturers.

Goldman Sachs, with a share of 18% of the US structured product market, was the most prolific provider by sales volume during the second quarter of 2017, according to SRP data. The bank issued 540 structured products worth $2.8bn between April 1 and June 30, 2017, against 499 products with sales of $2.4bn the previous quarter and 333 products worth $1.8bn during the same period last year. The majority of the banks products this quarter (442) were linked to equities including 261 products linked to a single index, of which the S&P 500 (115), Eurostoxx 50 (43), Russell 2000 (33) and MSCI EAFE (19) were the most frequently used.

Goldman reported net revenues in investment banking were $1.73bn for the second quarter of 2017, 3% lower than the second quarter of 2016 and 2% higher than the first quarter of 2017.

Net revenues in fixed income, currency and commodities client execution, at $1.16bn were 40% lower than the second quarter of 2016, due to significantly lower net revenues in interest rate products, commodities, credit products and currencies, partially offset by higher net revenues in mortgages, according to the bank. Net revenues in equities were $1.89bn for the second quarter, 8% higher than the same period last year, primarily due to higher net revenues in equities client execution, reflecting higher results in both cash products and derivatives, the bank said.

Bank of America Merrill lynch launched 122 structured products worth$2.4bn in Q2 2017, up from 85 products with sales of $1.5bn in the same period last year. The bank's best-selling product during the quarter was Accelerated Return Notes (097096457) which sold $174.3m at inception. The one-year note offers 300% participation in the upside performance of the S&P 500, subject to a maximum return of 110%.

Baml reported revenue, net of interest expense, increased 7% to $22.8bn in the second quarter, from $21.3 billion in the same quarter last year. Net income increased 10% to $5.3bn while earnings per share (EPS) increased 12% to $0.46, compared to $4.8 billion and $0.41, respectively. The global wealth and investment management division reported record net income of $804m and assets under management (AUM) flows of $28bn in the second quarter of 2017. The bank's global markets division reported sales and trading revenue of $3.2bn, including negative net debit valuation adjustment (DVA) of $159m

Morgan Stanley collected sales of $2.4bn from 374 structured products in the second quarter of 2017 (Q2 2015: 228 products/$1.1bn), which translates in a 15% share of the US market. Among the bank's issuance were a number of products linked to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) including the Morgan Stanley ETF-MAP 2 Index (five), iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF, SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (three each), iShares China Large-Cap ETF, iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF and Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (two each).

Morgan Stanley reported net revenues of $9.5bn for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 compared with $8.9bn a year ago. Institutional securities net revenues were $4.8bn reflecting strength in equity sales and trading and M&A advisory, and improved results in underwriting while wealth management net revenues were $4.2bn, according to the bank. Investment management net revenues were $665m with assets under management of $435bn.

'Our second quarter results demonstrated the resilience of our franchise in a subdued trading environment,' said James Gorman (pictured), Chairman and CEO, Morgan Stanley, in a statement. 'Our wealth management business produced a 25% margin and our strong investment banking results attest to the diversity of our global business.'

JP Morgan issued 729 structured products worth $2.2bn in the second quarter of 2017, against 573 products with sales of $1.3bn in Q2 2017.The majority of the bank's products (453) were based on equities, including 259 linked to a single index and 280 to a basket of indices, followed by alternatives (70) and interest rates (53).

The bank reported net revenue of $26.4bn, up 5% while net interest income, at $12.5bn, was up 8%, primarily driven by the net impact of rising rates and loan growth, partially offset by declines in net interest income of the markets division.

Wells Fargo, which launched 77 structured products with sales of $357bn in Q2 2017 (Q2 2016: 70 products/$361), reported net income of $5.8bn (Q2 2016: $5.5bn) while revenues of $22.2bn were stable from the prior year. In wealth management and investment management client assets reached a record-high of $1.8tr, up 8% year-on-year, driven by higher market valuations and continued positive net flows while the asset management division reported total AUM of $487bn, up 1% from the prior year primarily due to higher market valuations and assets acquired during 2016, according to the bank. The bank also reported a strong performance in active equity with 70% of active equity mutual funds outperforming their respective benchmarks year to date.

Citi, which has the lowest market share of the six US investment banks reviewed by SRP, issued 95 structured products worth $257m in the second quarter, compared to 65 products with a sales volume of $175m one year ago. Citi's issuance included five products linked to the Citi Dynamic Asset Selector 5 ER Index.

For 2Q 2017, the bank reported net revenues of $17.9b, up 2% from the previous year. Issuance of senior and subordinated debt registered $106bn and $27bn for the quarter, respectively. Customer-related debt, which includes structured notes, such as equity- and credit-linked notes, as well as non-structured notes, stood at $28bn (1Q17 $26bn), according to the bank.

Click the link to view the full Q2 2017 results for Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

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