Investment banks across the world generated a record $124.5bn in fees this year as companies raced to raise cash to outlast the pandemic. The windfall came as lenders earned all-time high fees underwriting debt and equity offerings for clients such as aerospace group Boeing, property rental site Airbnb and telecoms group SoftBank, according to data provider Refinitiv. It was a “very robust year for underwriting both debt and equity” said Jason Goldberg, an analyst at Barclays. “You saw a bump this year as companies looked to access capital markets to shore up their balance sheets in the face of pandemic-related uncertainty.”