Investment banking - Wikipedia

Investment banking - Investment banks help companies and governments and their agencies to raise money by issuing and selling securities in the primary market. They assist public and private corporations in raising funds in the capital markets (both equity and debt), as well as in providing strategic advisory services for mergers, acquisitions and other types of financial transactions.
Investment banks also act as intermediaries in trading for clients. Investment banks differ from commercial banks, which take deposits and make commercial and retail loans. In recent years, however, the lines between the two types of structures have blurred, especially as commercial banks have offered more investment banking services to becoming a one stop service provider. In the US, the Glass-Steagall Act, initially created in the wake of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, prohibited banks from both accepting deposits and underwriting securities; Glass-Steagall was repealed by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999. Investment banks may also differ from brokerages, which in general assist in the purchase and sale of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds in the secondary market. However some firms operate as both brokerages and investment banks; this includes some of the best known financial services firms in the world.
In the strictest definition , investment banking is the raising of funds, both in debt and equity, and the division handling this in an investment bank is often called the "Investment Banking Division" (IBD). However, only a few small firms provide only this service. Almost all investment banks are heavily involved in providing additional financial services for clients, such as the trading of derivatives, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodity, and equity securities. It is therefore acceptable to refer to both the "Investment Banking Division" and other 'front office' divisions such as "Fixed Income" as part of "investment banking," and any employee involved in either side as an "investment banker." Furthermore, one who engages in these activities in-house at a non-investment bank is also considered an investment banker.Investment banks help companies and governments and their agencies to raise money by issuing and selling securities in the primary market. They assist public and private corporations in raising funds in the capital markets (both equity and debt), as well as in providing strategic advisory services for mergers, acquisitions and other types of financial transactions.
Investment banks also act as intermediaries in trading for clients. Investment banks differ from commercial banks, which take deposits and make commercial and retail loans. In recent years, however, the lines between the two types of structures have blurred, especially as commercial banks have offered more investment banking services to becoming a one stop service provider. In the US, the Glass-Steagall Act, initially created in the wake of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, prohibited banks from both accepting deposits and underwriting securities; Glass-Steagall was repealed by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999. Investment banks may also differ from brokerages, which in general assist in the purchase and sale of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds in the secondary market. However some firms operate as both brokerages and investment banks; this includes some of the best known financial services firms in the world.
In the strictest definition, investment banking is the raising of funds, both in debt and equity, and the division handling this in an investment bank is often called the "Investment Banking Division" (IBD). However, only a few small firms provide only this service. Almost all investment banks are heavily involved in providing additional financial services for clients, such as the trading of derivatives, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodity, and equity securities. It is therefore acceptable to refer to both the "Investment Banking Division" and other 'front office' divisions such as "Fixed Income" as part of "investment banking," and any employee involved in either side as an "investment banker।" Furthermore, one who engages in these activities in-house at a non-investment bank is also considered an investment banker.


The main activities and units
The primary function of an investment bank is buying and selling products both on behalf of the bank's clients and also for the bank itself. Banks undertake risk through proprietary trading, done by a special set of traders who do not interface with clients and through Principal Risk, risk undertaken by a trader after he or she buys or sells a product to a client and does not hedge his or her total exposure. Banks seek to maximize profitability for a given amount of risk on their balance sheet[citation needed].
An investment bank is split into the so-called Front Office, Middle Office and Back Office. The individual activities are described below:
Front Office
Investment Banking is the traditional aspect of investment banks which involves helping customers raise funds in the Capital Markets and advising on mergers and acquisitions. Investment banking may involve subscribing investors to a security issuance, coordinating with bidders, or negotiating with a merger target. Other terms for the Investment Banking Division include Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and Corporate Finance (often pronounced "corpfin").
Investment management is the professional management of various securities (shares, bonds, etc.) and other assets (e.g. real estate), to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors. Investors may be institutions (insurance companies, pension funds, corporations etc.) or private investors (both directly via investment contracts and more commonly via collective investment schemes eg. mutual funds) .
Financial Markets is split into four key divisions: Sales, Trading, Research and Structuring.
Sales and Trading is often the most profitable area of an investment bank[citation needed], responsible for the majority of revenue of most investment banks.इन the process of market making, traders will buy and sell financial products with the goal of making an incremental amount of money on each trade. Sales is the term for the investment banks sales force, whose primary job is to call on institutional and high-net-worth investors to suggest trading ideas (on caveat emptor basis) and take orders. Sales desks then communicate their clients' orders to the appropriate trading desks, who can price and execute trades, or structure new products that fit a specific need.
Research is the division which reviews companies and writes reports about their prospects, often with "buy" or "sell" ratings. While the research division generates no revenue, its resources are used to assist traders in trading, the sales force in suggesting ideas to customers, and investment bankers by covering their clients. In recent years the relationship between investment banking and research has become highly regulated, reducing its importance to the investment bank.
Structuring has been a relatively recent division as derivatives have come into play, with highly technical and numerate employees working on creating complex structured products which typically offer much greater margins and returns than underlying cash securities.
Middle Office
Risk Management involves analyzing the market and credit risk that traders are taking onto the balance sheet in conducting their daily trades, and setting limits on the amount of capital that they are able to trade in order to prevent 'bad' trades having a detrimental effect to a desk overall. Another key Middle Office role is to ensure that the above mentioned economic risks are captured accurately (as per agreement of commercial terms with the counterparty), correctly (as per standardized booking models in the most appropriate systems) and on time (typically within 30 minutes of trade execution). In recent years the risk of errors has become known as "operational risk" and the assurance Middle Offices provide now includes measures to address this risk. When this assurance is not in place, market and credit risk analysis can be unreliable and open to deliberate manipulation.
Back Office
Operations involves data-checking trades that have been conducted, ensuring that they are not erroneous, and transacting the required transfers. While it provides the greatest job security of the divisions within an investment bank, it is a critical part of the bank that involves managing the financial information of the bank and ensures efficient capital markets through the financial reporting function. The staff in these areas are often highly qualified and need to understand in depth the deals and transactions that occur across all the divisions of the bank. [1].
Technology
Every major investment bank has considerable amounts of in-house software, created by the Technology team, who are also responsible for Computer and Telecommunications-based support. Technology has changed considerably in the last few years as more sales and trading desks are using electronic trading platforms. These platforms can serve as auto-executed hedging to complex model driven algorithms

Indian Banking System

Indian Banking System, Private Sector Banks, Indian Central Bank, Indian Banking Sector, Commercial Banks & Other Banking Info

Banking - Banking System
Introduction
Banks in India
Banking dates back to 1786, the first bank established in India, then the nationalisation of banks in 1969 and recently the liberalisation of the same since 1991.
In India the banking sector is segregated as public or private sector banks, cooperative banks and regional rural banks. Foreign banks has been given a different head followed by upcoming foreign banks in this section.
Banking Services in India
Financial and Banking Sector Reforms
Bouquet of services are at customers demand in todays banking system. Different types of accounts and loans, facilitating with plastic money and money transfer across the globe.
The last decade experienced a complete reform in the financial and banking sector. The capital and financial market, banking & non-banking organisation and financial instruments was redressed towards development.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
IDBI
RBI is the central bank of the country since 1934. It regulates, controls credit, issue licenses and functions as banker of all banks and the government.
Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) is the tenth largest bank in the world in terms of development.
Easy Banking
Banking Services for NRIs in India
With the advancement of technology, banking sector has become more easy, fast, accurate and also time saving. ATMs, Mobile Banking, SMS Banking and Net Banking is only the tip of an ice-berg.
This section discusses upon the servicres provided to the NRIs in India through different dedicated account. FAQs makes the section more comprehensive.
Indian Banks Association (IBA)
Proxy Banking in India
The functions of Indian Banks Association (IBA), its organisational structure, the addresses and contact details are discussed in this section.
Only 42% of rural households have bank accounts. Proxy Banking, a bank through Kiosk and ATM challenges to penetrate the untouched population in interior India.
Fact Files of Banks in India
FAQ
Know some of the facts which you always wanted to know, like first bank in India, first Indian bank in world, first bank to get ISO certificate and many more.
Know all about Credit Cards and Indian Banking services for NRIs through this section with number of expected queries.
Top Banks in India
The following are best banks which are currently operating in India under the guidelines of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Abn Amro Bank In IndiaAllahabad Bank In IndiaAmerican Express Bank In IndiaAndhra Bank In IndiaBank Of IndiaCanara BankCentral Bank Of IndiaCITI BankCorporation BankHDFC Bank
HSBC BankICICI BankIDBIIndian Overseas BankOriental Bank Of CommercePunjab National BankState Bank Of India (SBI)Standard Chartered BankUnited Bank Of IndiaUTI bank

Top Investment Banking Firms

Top Investment Banking Firms In World


A.G. Edwards
ABN Amro
Alex. Brown & Sons
Allen & Company
AllianceBernstein
Allianz
Ambrian
Babcock & Brown
Bank of America
Bank of Nova Scotia
Barclays
Barings
Bear Stearns
BMO
BNP Paribas
Boenning & Scattergood
Brown Brothers Harriman
Brown, Shipley & Co.
C.E. Unterberg, Towbin
Calyon
Canaccord Adams
Cantor Fitzgerald
Carnegie, Wylie & Company
Cazenove
CIBC
Citigroup
Close Brothers Group
Commodities Corporation
Cowen Group, Inc.
Credit Suisse
D.A. Davidson & Co.
Deal Strategy
Dean Witter
Deka Bank
Deutsche Bank
Dillon, Read & Company
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette
Dresner Partners
Drexel Burnham Lambert
E. F. Hutton
Evercore Partners
Financo, Inc.
First Boston
Fortis Bank
Fox-Pitt, Kelton
Friedman Billings Ramsey
G.H. Walker & Co.
Genuity Capital Markets
Gerard Klauer Mattison
Goldman Sachs
Grace Matthews
Greenhill & Company
Greif & Co.
Grupo Santander
H. B. Hollins & Co.
Halsey, Stuart & Co.
Hambrecht & Quist
Hambros Bank
Harris Williams & Company
Harris, Forbes & Co.
Hilco Corporate Finance, LLC
Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin
HSBC
Imperial Capital, LLC
ING Group
Investec
Investment Technology Group
J. & W. Seligman & Co.
Janney Montgomery Scott
Jefferies & Co.
Jordan, Knauff & Company
JPMorgan Chase
Kaupthing Bank
KBC Bank
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods
KeyCorp
Kidder, Peabody & Co.
Kleinwort Benson
Kuhn, Loeb & Co.
L.F. Rothschild
Ladenburg Thalmann
Lazard
Lazard Capital Markets
Lee, Higginson & Co.
Legg Mason
Lehman Brothers
Macquarie Bank
Merrill Lynch
Miller Buckfire
Mizuho Financial Group
Monte dei Paschi di Siena
Montgomery & Co.
Montgomery Securities
Morgan Grenfell
Morgan Stanley
N M Rothschild & Sons
Needham & Company
Neuberger Berman, LLC
Newbury Piret
Newsouth Capital Management inc.
NIBC
NIBC
Noble Bank
Nomura
Nomura Securities Co., Ltd
Oppenheimer
Paine Webber
Park Lane - Investment Banking Services
Perella Weinberg Partners
Peter J. Solomon Company
Petrie Parkman & Co.
Piper Jaffray
Prudential Securities
Putnam Lovell
Rabobank
Raymond James
Robert Fleming & Co.
Robert W. Baird & Company
Robertson, Stephens
Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Scotland
Rutberg & Co.
Ryan Beck & Co.
S.G. Warburg & Co
Sagent Advisors
Salman Partners Inc.
Salomon Brothers
Sandler O'Neill + Partners
Saxo Bank
Schroders
Smith Barney
Societe Generale
Soundview Technology Group
Stephens Inc.
Stifel Nicolaus
SVB Alliant
T. Rowe Price
ThinkEquity Partners, LLC
Thomas Weisel Partners
Toronto-Dominion Bank
Transparent Value
TSG Partners, LLC
UBS AG
Unicredit
Wachovia
Wasserstein Perella
Wells Fargo
White Weld & Co.
William Blair & Company
WIT Capital
WR Hambrecht+ Co

George Bernard - Marketing and Sales - George Bernard

George Bernard - Marketing and Sales - George Bernard

The Two Magic Components to Sales Success


There are two disciplines that will yield amazing results when applied daily. They will help you overcome any obstacles or challenges that are put in your path. If you can master these two disciplines there is nothing you can’t accomplish.The first is the development of faith in yourself, which can produce staggering results. I am talking about the faith and the determination never to quit. Have the faith to repeat the right disciplines and actions long enough and with enough intensity to win.Your self-image is housed in your subconscious mind. Your subconscious doesn’t evaluate the information you put in it. It only tries to create reality out of what you put into it. If you are allowing the negative to enter your subconscious mind unfiltered, you will begin to focus your self-image on the negative that you allow into your subconscious mind. To create a strong self-image or self-faith you must work diligently to feed your subconscious mind with positive thoughts, ideas, and goals to achieve. You can do this through books, audiocassettes, experiences, coaching, affirmations, and seminars. The world will gladly fill your mental make-up with negatives. Work to combat the negatives by placing positive thoughts and images in your mind every day.As Zig Ziglar says, let’s do a “check up from the neck up.” How often are you reading great books? Are you listening to audiocassettes in the car daily? Do you have affirmations that you are pounding into your subconscious mind daily? Do you have a real estate or personal success coach? If you aren’t doing these activities regularly you are probably not reaching your peak performance.To increase your belief in yourself you need to fill your subconscious mind with the positive thoughts and experiences of success. You can’t neglect to do this even for one day or you will fall behind. Don’t put yourself in the position to play catch-up with your self-confidence.The second is development of focus. Focus is one of the most powerful tools a person can possess. Even if you have a positive faith in yourself you must have focus to achieve greatness and success.Al Ries wrote a great book simply called Focus. Al used a laser beam as one of his examples. The amount of energy a laser beam has is very small. Most laser beams only have a few watts worth of energy. It is the process of focusing those few watts onto a very small area, which generates the power. It is because the energy is condensed to the size of the head of a pin that amazing things can happen, such as eye surgery without making incisions, the removal of cancer cells, and the cutting through metal.You can be like that laser through focus. You can accomplish more in less time by staying in the moment and being completely focused on the task at hand. Here is a technique to improve your focus. Break your day into smaller increments of time. You may only be able to stay focused for 20 minutes now. So break your day into 20-minute increments with five to ten minutes in between. Do the activities in the outline in 20-minute increments of time.Don’t allow distractions to creep into those 20-minute increments. Only do the activities outlined in those increments of time. Think only of the moment and work to focus in on the moment and the specific activity you are to do in that moment. Don’t allow anyone to distract you during your 20 minutes of focused time.As you get better and more skilled at focusing you will be able to increase the focus time and decrease the break time. When most people evaluate their time, there is very little of an eight-hour workday that is focused time. The lack of focus time is why Agents often work seven days a week. It is because there is little focus time invested daily.By having a positive faith in yourself you will be able to climb the mountains of life. Being highly skilled at focusing will enable you to do it with efficiency. If you learn to focus on what is most important to you, you will create the abundant life you desire and deserve.
Until next time…