...Off to a Slower Start: Seasonally the strongest quarter of the year, the first quarter started off muted in 2019, marking the second lowest first quarter of capital markets revenues since 1Q11. Only quarterly advisory revenues improved from a year ago as concerns about slowing global growth and geopolitical uncertainties led to lower volatility and weaker capital markets results in aggregate for the five banks included in this report. Shutdown Impacts Equity Capital Markets: The December 2018 government shutdown impacted the SEC's ability to review pending IPOs, which adversely impacted investment banking revenues in 1Q19, as expected. Quarterly Earnings Tied to Business Model: Overall quarterly earnings, inclusive of capital markets revenues, were stronger at the universal banks than at the investment banks, of which GS and MS reported less quarterly pre-tax income than in the same period a year ago. This decline reflects the higher relative reliance on capital markets revenues at GS and...
