Will the Clearwater UK Buyout Aid KEY's Investment Banking Fee Growth?

KeyCorp KEY recently completed the acquisition of Clearwater Corporate Finance LLP ("Clearwater UK"), a UK-based middle-market investment banking advisory firm. The transaction marks another step in expanding the company's advisory business and establishes its presence in the Western European market.

Building on a collaboration between KeyBanc Capital Markets and Clearwater UK that began in 2020, the acquisition strengthens KeyCorp's middle-market M&A capabilities and enhances opportunities to serve U.S. and European corporate and private equity clients. Clearwater UK advises clients across 10 industry sectors through offices in London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.

The acquisition complements KeyCorp's strategy of expanding its investment banking franchise and growing fee-based businesses. In the first six months of 2026, its total revenues increased 8.4% year over year to $3.92 billion, while non-interest income rose 5.2% to $1.43 billion, reflecting continued momentum across fee-generating businesses. Management expects adjusted non-interest income to grow 5-6% in 2026, driven by sustained growth in its priority businesses.

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Although second-quarter investment banking and debt placement fees declined 5.1% year over year to $169 million, the metric increased 4% in the first half of 2026 to $366 million. Investment banking pipelines increased 9% sequentially in the second quarter and remain at historically elevated levels, supported by record M&A and debt capital markets pipelines.

While middle-market M&A activity is yet to normalize, management continues to see strong client engagement. Management expects 2026 investment banking fees to grow at a mid-single-digit rate, with third-quarter investment banking fees projected to increase more than 20% sequentially, supported by improving deal activity and the Clearwater UK acquisition.

KEY’s Price Performance

Over the past six months, shares of KeyCorp have gained 0.3%, underperforming the industry's 9.9% growth.

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At present, KeyCorp carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Business Restructuring Steps Taken by Other Financial Firms

Earlier this week, Hancock Whitney Corporation HWC completed its previously announced acquisition of OFB Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of One Florida Bank, in an all-cash transaction valued at $377.6 million.

The deal expands HWC’s presence in key Florida markets and reflects its strategy of strengthening its franchise through targeted acquisitions, expanding its customer base and enhancing long-term growth opportunities. The acquisition also broadens Hancock Whitney's commercial banking footprint and is expected to generate earnings accretion, cost savings and additional revenue opportunities over time.

Likewise, HSBC Holdings plc HSBC announced the sale of its retail banking businesses in Egypt and Australia as part of its broader simplification and restructuring strategy.

The transactions reflect HSBC’s focus on streamlining operations, exiting businesses where it lacks sufficient scale, redeploying capital to higher-return opportunities, and strengthening its core corporate and institutional banking, wealth management and wholesale banking franchises. The moves are expected to support HSBC's target of delivering approximately $1.5 billion in annualized cost savings and achieving at least a 17% return on average tangible equity by 2028.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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