WHEN THE ECONOMY IS SICK, BUY health care. That has long been a prescription for investors. After all, when times are tough people may stop buying cars, jewelry and gadgets, but they don’t stop getting sick. By extension, investment banks looking for fees as the past few years’ deal boom slows may soon be relying more on countercyclical sectors, such as health care.
Which banks are the strongest in health care? The past 12 months have seen quite a reordering of the top ranks, according to research firm Dealogic. Goldman, Sachs & Co., long the Street’s biggest recipient of banking fees overall, has turned what was a relative weakness into a strength, increasing its health care fees by 122 percent and vaulting from fifth place to first. Second-place JPMorgan grew its take by 12 percent and Bank of America Securities storms into the top three, while Citi and Merrill Lynch fall out of the top five.
