Wall Street banks get a lift from trading Israeli currency, bonds

The world's top investment banks are on track to post the highest revenue in five years from trading Israel's bonds and currency thanks to the volatility caused by the 14-month long war in the Middle East, data seen by Reuters show. Banks are expected to post $475 million in fixed-income, currencies and commodities trading (FICC) revenue linked to Israel in 2024, a more than 10% increase from 2023, amid increased volatility primarily in the shekel, the Israeli currency, data from Vali Analytics Ltd show. The revenue rise illustrates how global banks are making money on price gyrations in Israeli assets as the country's wars in Gaza and Lebanon grind on.