JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reclaimed the top spot in India’s equity capital markets league tables for the first time in five years, overtaking domestic leader Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. in a year marked by heavy block trades and strong foreign institutional participation.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, JPMorgan’s market share in Indian equity offerings has nearly doubled from last year to over 11 percent. The Wall Street bank was credited with advising on equity deals worth 537 billion rupees, or roughly $6 billion, during calendar year 2025. This sharp climb pushed JPMorgan up four places in the rankings, reflecting a strategic focus on large secondary transactions rather than headline IPO volumes.

India has emerged as one of the busiest equity fundraising destinations globally, supported by resilient domestic liquidity, strong retail participation, and renewed interest from foreign investors. In 2025 alone, companies raised close to $55 billion through initial public offerings, follow-on share placements, and block trades. While domestic banks have traditionally dominated IPO underwriting, global investment banks have increasingly carved out a niche in large stake sales placed with overseas investors.

JPMorgan’s return to the top underscores this structural split. Its rise was driven by advisory roles in some of the largest block trades of the year, including stake sales in telecom major Bharti Airtel Ltd. and airline operator InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.. These transactions typically require deep international distribution networks and balance sheet credibility, areas where global banks retain a competitive edge.

Unlike earlier cycles where IPO volume alone determined league table leadership, 2025 has seen block trades play a decisive role in rankings. JPMorgan’s strategy has been to invest early in its India franchise, expanding its investment banking team to become the largest among global peers operating in the country.

Abhinav Bharti, head of equity capital markets at JPMorgan India, noted that the bank chose to scale up ahead of the deal boom rather than wait for market conditions to turn favourable. This approach allowed JPMorgan to capture large mandates as promoters and private equity investors looked to monetise stakes amid strong market liquidity.

Meanwhile, domestic players continue to dominate the IPO pipeline. Companies raising fresh capital through listings are largely relying on Indian banks, supported by robust inflows from local mutual funds and retail investors. This bifurcation is reshaping how league table leadership is interpreted.

Citigroup Inc. ranked as the second-largest equity deal arranger in India in 2025, with a market share of 9.6 percent. Kotak slipped to third place after leading the charts for three consecutive years, reflecting a year where block trade volumes outweighed IPO dominance in league table calculations.

Kotak, however, remained the most active arranger by number of transactions. It advised on several marquee primary issuances, including Tata Capital’s $1.7 billion IPO and Hexaware Technologies’ billion-dollar share sale. This underlines the continued strength of domestic banks in first-time equity offerings, especially in large-cap and mid-cap listings.

V Jayasankar, managing director at Kotak, argued that excluding block deals, the firm remains well ahead of competitors. He added that Kotak is focused on IPOs exceeding 50 billion rupees and maintains a strong presence across the mid-cap segment.

Other global banks such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc also climbed the rankings in 2025 as they expanded their India operations to tap rising deal flow. In contrast, Jefferies Group and Morgan Stanley slipped in the standings, highlighting the intensely competitive nature of India’s ECM landscape.

For Indian equities, sustained block trade activity can improve liquidity and institutional participation, but it may also increase near-term supply in large-cap stocks. How the market absorbs this supply will be critical for index performance.