What is An Investment Bank? How does it Work?

An investment bank serves as an intermediary, underwriter, lender, and consultant as opposed to a commercial bank, which grants loans to people and businesses and keeps their funds in deposit accounts. Large, complex deals like mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, or the financing of significant infrastructure projects like bridges or utility networks are typically handled by investment banks. J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs are two well-known investment banks.

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What is An Investment Bank?

An investment bank is a provider of financial services that serves as a middleman in major and elaborate financial transactions. When a young firm is ready to launch its initial public offering (IPO) or when a company merges with a direct competitor, an investment bank is typically engaged. Additionally, it serves as a broker or financial advisor for significant institutional clients, including pension funds. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank are examples of international investment banks. A lot of these names also have divisions that take care of the needs of high-net-worth people in terms of investments and storefront community banking. Investment banks perform both consulting and trading functions. Investment banks must keep the two divisions apart to avoid a conflict between their trading activity and the job they undertake for clients.

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How does An Investment Bank Work?

An investment bank and a bank’s investment banking division (IBD) can occasionally be confused for one another. Underwriting, mergers and acquisitions, sales and trading, equities research, asset management, commercial banking, and retail banking are just a few of the many services provided by full-service investment banks. Only underwriting and M&A advisory services are provided by a bank’s investment banking division. The following services are provided by full-service banks:

• Underwriting: Companies that seek to raise capital or go public through the IPO process work with capital raising and underwriting groups to connect investors and companies. The primary market, or “new capital,” is served by this function.
• Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A): Advisory jobs that oversee the M&A process from beginning to end for both business buyers and sellers. The practice of assisting corporations and institutions in locating, assessing, and completing business purchases is known as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory. This performs a crucial role in i-banking. Banks leverage their wide-ranging relationships and networks to identify possibilities and support client negotiations. In M&A deals, bankers provide advice to both parties, acting as either the “buy-side” or the “sell-side” of the transaction.
• Trade & Sales: matching secondary market buyers and sellers of assets. Investment banking sales and trading units might trade the company’s own money as well as operate as agents for clients.
• Equity Research: The study conducted by the equity research group, or “coverage,” of securities, promotes stock trading and aids in investing decision-making.
• Asset Management: managing investments across a wide range of investment types for a diverse group of investors, including institutions and individual investors.

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Services for Underwriting in Investment Banking

For businesses or other organisations, underwriting refers to the process of acquiring money by selling investors stocks or bonds (such as in an IPO). Businesses require capital to run and expand, and bankers assist them in obtaining that capital by pitching the business to potential investors. Underwriting typically comes in three different forms:

• Firm Commitment: The underwriter commits to purchasing the entire issue and taking full financial responsibility for any shares that remain unsold.
• Best Efforts: The underwriter agrees to sell as many of the issues as is reasonably achievable at the agreed-upon offering price, but it is free to return any shares that aren’t sold to the issuer without incurring any costs.
• All-or-None: The deal is called off and the issuing business receives nothing if the entire issue cannot be sold at the offered price.

Following the book-building processes, the offer is priced and closed once the bank has begun marketing it.

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The Advantages of Investment Banking

Investment banking may assist big businesses in a variety of ways to make crucial financial decisions and make sure they maximise revenues, as we have covered above. Investment banks are a well-liked financial institution among these businesses and even governments because of this. In that regard, we can state that investment banking and investment banks have a lot of benefits that big businesses and organisations can use to their advantage. A few of these advantages of using an investment bank’s aid include the following:

• Investment banks effectively manage their clientele and provide them with the information they require regarding the advantages and disadvantages of investing their money in other businesses or organisations.
• These banks serve as a bridge between the company and the investor, ensuring a rise in financial capital by aiding in significant financial transactions like mergers and acquisitions.
• To ensure that the client’s money is invested safely and helps to reduce the risks involved with the mentioned deal or project, it conducts a thorough analysis of the deal and project that is to be made by its customer.

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The Disadvantages of Investment Banking

Investment banks have divisions where they advise external clients and where they trade their accounts. There may be a conflict of interest there. Investment banks must maintain a very effective separation between divisions to stop it. This fictitious wall is intended to stop the exchange of information that could allow one party to gain unfairly at the expense of its clients.

What Function Do Investment Bankers Serve?

Investment bankers are employed by investment banks to assist businesses, governments, and other organisations with the planning and management of significant projects. By detecting project risks beforehand, investment bankers help their clients save time and money. Theoretically, investment bankers ought to be industry experts with a pulse on the state of the market for investments. Investment bankers use their experience to customise their recommendations to the current economic situation as businesses and organisations seek them for guidance on how to effectively plan their future.

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Investment Banking Clients

Investment bankers offer a variety of clients, advice on their capital-raising and M&A requirements. These customers can be found anywhere in the world. Customers of investment banks include:

• Governments – Investment banks assist governments in the funding of projects, the trading of securities, and the acquisition or disposal of crown corporations.
• Corporations – Bankers work with both private and public firms to assist them in going public (IPO), raising additional capital, expanding their operations, making acquisitions, selling company units, and providing research for them as well as general corporate finance guidance.
• Institutions – Banks collaborate with institutional investors who look after other people’s money to assist them in trading securities and offering research. Additionally, they assist private equity firms in acquiring portfolio companies and exiting those holdings through an IPO or a sale to a strategic bidder.

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Investment Banking Skills

Work in i-banking necessitates extensive financial modelling and valuation. Bank Analysts and Associates spend a lot of time in Excel creating financial models and applying different valuation techniques to advise their clients and close agreements, whether for underwriting or M&A activity. The following abilities are necessary for investment banking:

• Financial modelling: creating 3-statement models, discounted cash flow (DCF) models, LBO models, and other kinds of financial models, among many other financial modelling tasks.
• Business valuation: utilising a variety of valuation techniques, including DCF analysis, comparable company research, and precedent transactions.
• Presentations and pitchbooks: To sell ideas to potential clients and secure new business, people build pitchbooks and PowerPoint presentations from scratch.
• Transaction documents: creating a data room, drafting a confidential information memorandum (CIM), an investment teaser, a term sheet, a confidentiality agreement, and many other papers.
• Relationship management: working with current customers to clinch a contract and ensure that they are satisfied with the service being delivered.
• Development of sales and businesses: Meeting with potential customers frequently to present ideas, offer assistance with their job, and offer value-added counsel that will ultimately lead to new business.
• Negotiation: influencing how buyers and sellers in a transaction negotiate, as well as assisting clients in maximising value creation.

Investment Banking Careers

It’s quite difficult to join i-banking. There are frequently up to 100 candidates for every available position. The most popular job titles in i-banking are:

• Analyst
• Associate
• Vice President
• Director
• Managing Director
• Head or Vice-Chairperson

Main Investment Banks

The major financial institutions, commonly referred to as “bulge bracket banks” in investment banking, are:

1. Bank of America Merrill Lynch
2. Credit Suisse
3. Barclays Capital
4. J.P. Morgan
5. UBS
6. Morgan Stanley
7. Citi
8. Goldman Sachs
9. Deutsche Bank

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Types of Investment Banks

Three groups are frequently used to categorise the companies involved in the investment banking sector: bulge bracket banks, middle-market banks, and boutique banks. Elite boutique banks and regional boutique banks are common subcategories of boutique banks. In some cases, elite boutique banks resemble bulge bracket banks more than regional boutiques. The primary factor used to categorise investment banks is size; however, in this context, the term “size” can be interpreted to mean either the size of the bank in terms of the number of workers or offices or the average amount of M&A deals it has handled.

1. Regional Boutique Banks: The banks referred to as regional boutique banks are the smallest investment banks in terms of company size and normal deal size. Regional boutiques typically employ just a few to a few dozen people. Because most regional boutiques are small, they frequently do not provide all the services provided by bulge bracket investment banks and may instead choose to focus on a single area, such as managing M&As in a specific market sector. As the categorisation suggests, these banks only operate in or are at least focused on, one particular area of the nation. The bank’s operations may be limited to a particular city. Regional boutiques may work with large corporations with headquarters nearby, but they typically work with smaller businesses and groups. Other than on a municipal or state level, it is unlikely that they will collaborate with governments. Additionally, they typically manage M&A transactions worth $50 million to $100 million or less.
2. Elite Boutique Banks: Regional boutique investment banks typically have nothing in common with elite boutiques. In terms of the dollar value of the deals they manage, which is usually over $1 billion, elite boutiques more closely resemble bulge bracket banks, though they may also handle certain lesser deals. Once again, elite boutiques resemble bulge bracket banks in that they frequently have significant national and worldwide presence and operate dozens of offices in many nations. They often still don’t have the same kind of worldwide reach as a big investment bank like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM). Elite boutiques are similar to regional boutiques in that they frequently only handle M&A-related matters and typically do not offer the full range of investment banking services. They are more likely than regionals to provide asset management or restructuring services. The majority of elite boutique banks start as regional boutiques and progressively advance to elite rank by managing a succession of increasingly significant deals for more esteemed clients. Some elite boutiques, like Qatalyst Partners, quickly climb in prominence in significant part as a result of the founders’ track record in investment banking. Lazard LLC, Evercore Group LLC, and Moelis & Company are a few examples of well-known elite boutique investment banks.
3. Middle-Market Banks: Generally speaking, middle-market investment banks are what the name suggests. They sit in between the larger bulge bracket investment banks and the smaller regional investment banking firms. Middle-market banks primarily work on deals that start at the regional level and progress to the bulge bracket level, usually ranging from $50 million to $500 million or even more. In terms of geographic reach, medium markets are typically in the centre, with a presence that is significantly greater than regional boutiques but falls short of the multinational extent of bulge bracket banks. Contrary to boutique banks, middle-market companies typically offer the same comprehensive range of investment banking services as bulge bracket banks, including M&A and restructuring transactions, debt and equity capital market services, full-range financing, and asset management. Some middle-market banks specialise in providing services to a specific industry or sector, making them resemble local boutiques in some ways. For instance, KBW, an investment bank that focuses on dealing with businesses in the financial services sector, is one of the most well-known middle-market investment banking corporations. Piper Sandler Companies, Cowen Group, and Houlihan Lokey are a few of the middle-market companies that are more well-known.
4. Bulge Bracket Banks: The large, globally recognised investment banking companies with names like Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse Group AG, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America make up the bulge bracket banks. In terms of the number of offices and personnel, as well as the size of the deals they handle and the size of their corporate clients, bulge bracket firms are the biggest. Most of the clientele are Fortune 500, if not Fortune 100, companies. Bulge bracket investment banks frequently manage multibillion-dollar merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions; but, depending on the general situation of the economy or the specific client, a bulge bracket bank may occasionally handle transactions valued in the low hundreds of millions. Each of the bulge bracket banks conducts business abroad and has a sizable domestic and international presence. The top investment banks give their clients access to the whole spectrum of investment banking services, including trading, all forms of financing, asset management services, equity research and issuance, and M&A services, which are the core of the industry. In addition to having commercial and retail banking departments, the majority of bulge bracket banks also make money via cross-selling financial products. The proportion of high-net-worth and Fortune 500 clients who have chosen to work with prestigious boutique investment banking firms rather than bulge bracket firms is one major post-financial crisis change in the investment banking business.

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Bank Investment Company

The Finance Ministry is looking at other options for an affordable capital infusion after the RBI expressed concerns about the issue of zero-coupon bonds for the recapitalization of public sector banks (PSBs). One such option is the creation of a Bank Investment Company (BIC). The J. Nayak Committee recommended creating a BIC as a holding company or core investment company in its report on the “Governance of Boards of Banks in India.”

The article above has discussed all the major details like definition, examples, types, functions etc regarding the topic of investment banks. Download the Entri app to help you understand more stock market related topics to improve your financial awareness.