Macquarie Group is picking profits may rise by a tenth in the second half of the year as markets recover from the global financial crisis.
The Australian investment bank, which has been described as the "millionaire factory", made a profit of $A479 million in the first half, and is forecasting a similar result in the second half, though it may beat that by 10%.
Macquarie used the slowdown to buy assets cheaply offshore.
The company says it has $A4.5 billion in excess capital but did not outline its plans for the money, other than to reiterate its need for a strong balance sheet.
It says last year's strong bounce-back has moderated in certain areas, including Australian equity capital markets and credit businesses.
