After India’s bumper year of deals, investment bankers are reaping a bonanza

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“It has been one of the better years for the local bankers, and this specially gets amplified because globally the hikes andbonuses of I-bankers were not to their usual levels given softness in their local markets,”said Harpuneet Singh, managing director at executive search firm Russell Reynolds. “However, going ahead as markets cool down, a similar momentum may be difficult to maintain.”

Large and small investment banks together generated more than $1.35 billion ( ₹10,900 crore) in fee income in FY25 by stitching up transactions in the equity and debt markets, along with M&As, according to data collated by London Stock Exchange Group, an analytics services and data provider. That compares with the total I-banking fee of $1.25 billion generated in FY24 and $1.07 billion in FY23.

Emailed queries to spokespersons of Axis Capital, Avendus Capital, Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. and JM Financial did not elicit any response.

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Some of the top investment banks in the FY25 fee league tables include Jefferies, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, Morgan Stanley, Avendus Capital, and Avendus Capital.

Revenue-sharing model

Over 80 mainboard IPOs saw a total capital of ₹1.63 trillion raised in FY25, compared with ₹61,900 crore across 76 offers in FY24, according to KPMG’s analysis released in May 2025.

“Indian markets have been extremely buoyant in recent years, and the local investment banks have strongly leveraged these opportunities,” said Monica Agrawal, managing director, financial services and board and chief executive officer services at search firm Korn Ferry in India. “They have been able to attract top talent and are currently commanding higher compensation, too, as they have delivered great results. They are inching towards the top of the league tables, the erstwhile bastion of large global banks.”

Most investment banks now follow a revenue-sharing model with employees in client-facing roles, where a large part of their work revolves around deal origination. In such departments, the bonus payouts are directly linked to the fee income.

In December, Mint had reported that global banks would hand out record payouts of up to ₹1,000 crore combined in India on the back of decadal-high fee income in 2024.

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