In a year marked by cautious optimism in equity capital markets, investment banks are finding themselves compromising on profit margins to secure high-profile deals. The latest example is the landmark Hong Kong listing of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) $300750.SZ, China’s leading electric vehicle battery manufacturer. Despite being the largest equity offering in the world so far in 2025, the deal is expected to generate unusually low underwriting fees for the syndicate of nine banks involved.