Underwriter Liability Score
Banks earned 5.5% in underwriting fees regardless of whether their SPAC clients succeeded or went bankrupt. Here's who earned the most while their clients lost the most.
Banks Tracked
30
Total Fees Earned
$2.2B
at 5.5% of trust
Client Bankruptcies
33
Avg Client Return
-69.8%
Liability Score Ranking
Worst offenders at top. Score 0–100 based on client bankruptcies, returns, and capital lost.
Fees Earned vs. Client Outcomes
Banks in the bottom-right earned the most while their clients lost the most.
Full Rankings
Click any row to see worst clients
| # | Bank | SPACs | Capital | Fees | Bankrupt | Zombies | Avg Return | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barclays | 3 | $925M | $51M | 3 | 0 | -100% | 70 |
| 2 | Cowen and Company | 2 | $607M | $33M | 2 | 0 | -100% | 70 |
| 3 | Chardan Capital Markets | 2 | $280M | $15M | 1 | 1 | -100% | 65 |
| 4 | Stifel | 3 | $650M | $36M | 1 | 2 | -96.4% | 63 |
| 5 | EarlyBirdCapital | 8 | $1.6B | $86M | 5 | 2 | -74.1% | 61 |
| 6 | National Bank of Canada | 1 | $320M | $18M | 1 | 0 | -100% | 61 |
| 7 | Guggenheim Securities | 1 | $800M | $44M | 0 | 1 | -98% | 60 |
| 8 | Eagle Equity Partners | 1 | $1.7B | $95M | 0 | 1 | -97.5% | 60 |
| 9 | B. Riley Financial | 1 | $150M | $8M | 1 | 0 | -100% | 60 |
| 10 | Craig-Hallum | 1 | $300M | $17M | 0 | 1 | -98.8% | 58 |
| 11 | Credit Suisse | 13 | $3.7B | $204M | 3 | 8 | -84.8% | 57 |
| 12 | CITIC CLSA | 1 | $125M | $7M | 1 | 0 | -100% | 57 |
| 13 | Cantor Fitzgerald | 7 | $1.9B | $105M | 3 | 2 | -83.3% | 57 |
| 14 | Deutsche Bank | 8 | $2.6B | $142M | 3 | 3 | -83.5% | 57 |
| 15 | Maxim Group | 1 | $55M | $3M | 1 | 0 | -100% | 56 |
| 16 | Cowen | 1 | $350M | $19M | 0 | 1 | -98% | 56 |
| 17 | National Holdings | 1 | $50M | $3M | 0 | 1 | -97.7% | 56 |
| 18 | Citigroup | 9 | $6.3B | $349M | 2 | 5 | -66.3% | 54 |
| 19 | B.Riley | 1 | $0M | $0M | 0 | 1 | -97.5% | 53 |
| 20 | N/A (reverse merger) | 1 | $50M | $3M | 0 | 1 | -100% | 51 |
| 21 | Goldman Sachs | 19 | $9.5B | $524M | 4 | 9 | -39.9% | 50 |
| 22 | I-Bankers Securities | 1 | $215M | $12M | 0 | 1 | -85% | 50 |
| 23 | Chardan Capital | 2 | $400M | $22M | 0 | 1 | -98.5% | 47 |
| 24 | EF Hutton | 2 | $393M | $22M | 0 | 1 | -64% | 41 |
| 25 | Jefferies | 2 | $375M | $21M | 1 | 0 | -50% | 39 |
| 26 | JPMorgan | 1 | $4.5B | $248M | 0 | 0 | -52% | 34 |
| 27 | Canaccord Genuity | 1 | $100M | $6M | 0 | 0 | -99.9% | 30 |
| 28 | BTIG | 2 | $575M | $32M | 0 | 0 | -30% | 27 |
| 29 | Morgan Stanley | 3 | $903M | $50M | 1 | 1 | 33.5% | 25 |
| 30 | Oppenheimer | 1 | $310M | $17M | 0 | 0 | 20% | 10 |
Methodology
The Liability Score (0–100) weights five factors: bankruptcy rate among clients (30%), average client return (25%), zombie rate (20%), total capital lost (15%), and the ratio of fees earned to client losses (10%). Higher scores indicate underwriters whose clients caused more damage to investors.
Fee estimates assume the standard 5.5% SPAC underwriting fee (2% at IPO + 3.5% deferred). Actual fees may vary. Data covers 30 underwriters across 100 SPACs with identified underwriter data.