JPMorgan Chase & Co. has moved back to the top of India’s equity capital deals, ending a five-year gap and displacing Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. in one of the world’s most active fundraising arenas.
The shift highlights a renewed role for global banks in large block trades at a time when India’s equity issuance pipeline is expanding rapidly.
According to Bloomberg, the Wall Street firm climbed four places in the league tables during 2025, as it saw a sharp increase in its share of deal value.
JPMorgan’s strategy pays off
The bank’s market share has risen to more than 11% in 2025, nearly double its level a year earlier, after it was credited with equity offerings worth about 537 billion rupees, or roughly $6 billion.
Its ascent was driven by participation in some of the year’s biggest block trades, including stake sales in Bharti Airtel Ltd. and IndiGo operator InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.
These transactions underscored the bank’s strength in handling large secondary offerings typically targeted at foreign institutional investors.
“We invested well in advance rather than waiting for the market to expand,” said Abhinav Bharti, head of equity capital markets at JPMorgan India in the Bloomberg report.
He added that the bank has expanded its investment banking team to become the largest among global players in the country, positioning it to benefit from what it expects to be a prolonged boom in deal activity.
Foreign banks gain ground
The return of a foreign bank to the top of the rankings comes as Indian companies raise close to $55 billion this year through initial public offerings, share placements, and block deals.
Domestic lenders continue to dominate first-time equity sales, supported by strong inflows from local mutual funds and retail investors.
Global banks, however, are increasingly favoured for bulk trades that are typically placed with foreign institutional investors, allowing them to deploy international distribution networks and balance-sheet capacity.
Citigroup Inc. ranks second in India’s equity deals for 2025 with a 9.6% market share, while Kotak has slipped to third after leading the tables for three consecutive years.
The reshuffle underscores the competitive pressure facing domestic firms as international players expand their footprint.
Even so, Kotak arranged a higher number of equity offerings than any other bank during the year.
Its mandates included Tata Capital Ltd.’s $1.7 billion IPO and Hexaware Technologies Ltd.’s billion-dollar share sale, reinforcing the strength of local institutions in primary issuances and mid-cap transactions.
Rankings continue to shift
The changing rankings also reflect a broader trend of global banks expanding their presence in India to capture rising deal flow. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc moved up the league table as they stepped up their activity in the market.
By contrast, Jefferies Group and Morgan Stanley slipped in the rankings, even as competition among international banks intensified.
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