Wall Street banks see AI financing cycle lifting deals and fees

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AI boosts Wall Street deals

Highlights

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup report surging AI infrastructure financing demand across equity, debt, and loan markets, driving a strong pipeline of fee-generating deals.
SK Hynix's $26.5 billion ADR and SpaceX's $86 billion IPO led by Goldman Sachs and Citi generated over $70 million in fees, with major roles in upcoming Anthropic and OpenAI listings.
Bank of America has raised nearly $500 billion for AI-related firms since 2025, accounting for 60% of sector fundraising, as AI-driven spending fuels credit demand across both core and supporting industries.

AI infrastructure spending expands bank mandates

As reported by Reuters, large banks say demand tied to AI infrastructure is increasing activity across equity offerings, debt issuance and loans, creating a strong pipeline of fee-generating work. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon says the industry is in the middle of an AI capex super cycle, with companies seeking to use every available financing instrument.

Investment banks have already collected sizable fees from AI-linked transactions, including SK Hynix's $26.5 billion ADR offering and SpaceX's $86 billion initial public offering. Goldman Sachs is the lead left underwriter on the SpaceX IPO and is also positioned, alongside Morgan Stanley, for a major role in the upcoming Anthropic listing, while OpenAI has also filed for a U.S. IPO.

Citigroup, a joint global co-ordinator on the SK Hynix sale, earns more than $70 million from that deal. Citi CEO Jane Fraser says AI is dominating many client discussions, with spending accelerating in technology, data centers, energy and defense.

Credit demand spreads beyond core AI companies

Bank of America recently extends a $520 million credit line to OpenAI, its first loan to the company, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. CEO Brian Moynihan says the U.S. economy remains more durable than expected, helped by strong consumers, AI-driven investment and easing energy costs, though inflation and tighter monetary policy still pose risks.

According to internal data seen by Reuters, Bank of America has helped raise nearly $500 billion for AI-related companies since 2025, representing 60% of such fundraising across investment-grade debt, leveraged finance and equity capital markets. Stephen Biggar, director of financial services research at Argus Research, says the AI-driven capex super cycle is benefiting equity issuance, mergers and acquisitions activity, and debt financing.

JPMorgan Chase is also active in fundraising for AI-related companies and in financing data centers. Meta Platforms is working with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan on a roughly $13 billion financing package for a data center in El Paso, Texas, while JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum says AI-linked spending is also creating loan demand in less obvious parts of the economy, including suppliers and contractors that support data center construction.

In our earlier coverage of Wall Street banks’ strong quarterly results, we noted that AI-linked trading activity and a pickup in major listings helped lift revenues and profits at JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Bank of America. We also highlighted that the rush to fund AI infrastructure was spilling over from trading into broader capital-markets work—equity and debt issuance and IPO fees—supporting investment-banking income even as executives warned that buoyant conditions may not last.

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