The following list catalogues the largest, most profitable, and otherwise notable investment banks. This list of investment banks notes full-service banks, financial conglomerates, independent investment banks, private placement firms and notable acquired, merged, or bankrupt investment banks. As an industry it is broken up into the Bulge Bracket (upper tier), Middle Market (mid-level businesses), and boutique market (specialized businesses). [1]
The following are the largest full-service global investment banks; full-service investment banks usually provide both advisory and financing banking services, as well as sales, market making, and research on a broad array of financial products, including equities, credit, rates, currency, commodities, and their derivatives. The largest investment banks are noted with the following: [2]
Many of the largest investment banks are considered among the "bulge bracket banks" and as such underwrite the majority of financial transactions in the world. [3] Additionally, banks seeking more deal flow with smaller-sized deals with comparable profitability are known as "middle market investment banks" (known as boutique or independent investment banks). [1]
Large financial-services conglomerates combine commercial banking, investment banking, and sometimes insurance. Such combinations were common in Europe but illegal in the United States prior to the passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. The following are large investment banking firms (not listed above) that are affiliated with large financial institutions: [4]
ABN AMRO [5] 
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS Capital Services)
Banco Bradesco 
Banco Santander 
Bank of China (BOC International Holdings) Bank of Communications (BOCOM International Holdings) BBVA 
Berenberg Bank 
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC World Markets) China CITIC Bank China Construction Bank (CCB International Holdings)
CIMB Commerzbank 
Crédit Agricole 
Daiwa Securities 
DBS Bank (Capital Markets Group) Desjardins Group (Desjardins Capital Markets)
Handelsbanken 
ICICI Bank Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC International Holdings) ING Group Intesa Sanpaolo (Banca IMI)
İş Bankası (Is Investment) Itaú Unibanco (Itaú BBA) BTG Pactual 
KBC Bank 
KeyCorp (KeyBanc Capital Markets) Kotak Mahindra Bank Laurentian Bank of Canada (Laurentian Bank Securities)
Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds Bank Wholesale Banking & Markets) M&T Bank 
Macquarie Group Maybank Mediobanca Mizuho Financial Group National Bank of Canada (National Bank Financial Markets) Natixis 
Nordea PNC Financial Services (Harris Williams & Company) Rabobank RHB Bank / Rothschild & Co 
Sanlam 
Sberbank Scotiabank (Scotia Capital) SEB Société Générale Standard Bank Standard Chartered Bank State Bank of India (SBI Capital Markets) Stifel Financial (Stifel Nicolaus) Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group SunTrust (Robinson Humphrey) TD Securities Truist Financial UniCredit (UBM) VTB Bank (VTB Capital)Private placement agents, including companies that specialize in fundraising for private equity funds: [6] [7]
The following is a list of other boutique advisory firms and capital markets firms that have some notability:[ citation needed ]
BDO International (BDO Capital Advisors) Berkery, Noyes & Co 
BG Capital Brewin Dolphin Capital One (Capital One Securities) Deloitte (Deloitte Corporate Finance) Duff & Phelps Ernst & Young (Ernst & Young Capital Advisors) KPMG (KPMG Corporate Finance) Marlin & Associates PwC (PwC Corporate Finance) Roth MKM Sheshunoff Management Services The following are notable investment banking and brokerage firms that have been liquidated, acquired or merged and no longer operate under the same name.
| Firm | Fate |
|---|---|
| A.G. Becker & Co. | acquired by Merrill Lynch in 1984 |
| A.G. Edwards | acquired by Wachovia in 2007 |
| Alex. Brown & Sons | ultimately part of Deutsche Bank, survives as minor business unit |
| The Argosy Group | acquired by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in 1995 |
| Babcock & Brown | collapsed 2009, liquidation of its assets |
| BancAmerica Robertson Stephens | acquired by NationsBank in 1998 and integrated into NationsBanc Montgomery Securities to form Banc of America Securities |
| Barings | collapsed 1995; assets acquired by ING Bank |
| Bear Stearns | collapsed 2008; assets acquired by JPMorgan Chase |
| Blyth, Eastman Dillon & Co. | merged with Paine Webber in 1979 |
| Bowles Hollowell Connor & Co. | acquired by First Union in 1998 |
| Brown Bros. & Co. | merged with Harriman Brothers & Company in 1931 to form Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. |
| BT Alex. Brown | acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999 to form Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown |
| C.E. Unterberg, Towbin | acquired by Collins Stewart in 2007 |
| Commodities Corporation | acquired by Goldman Sachs in 1997 and renamed Goldman Sachs Princeton |
| Dain Rauscher Wessels | bought by Royal Bank of Canada in 2000 |
| Dean Witter Reynolds | merged with Morgan Stanley to form Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, subsequently the Dean Witter name was eliminated |
| Dillon, Read & Company | acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation in 1997, and is ultimately part of UBS AG |
| Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette | acquired by Credit Suisse in 2001 |
| Drexel Burnham Lambert | liquidated 1990 |
| E.F. Hutton & Co. | acquired by Shearson Lehman/American Express in 1988, ultimately part of Lehman Brothers |
| First Boston Corporation | merged with Credit Suisse in 1988 to form CS First Boston, renamed "Credit Suisse First Boston" in 1996 and "Credit Suisse" in 2006 |
| First Union Securities | acquired by Wachovia in 2002 to form Wachovia Securities |
| G.H. Walker & Co. | acquired by White Weld & Co in 1974 and ultimately part of Merrill Lynch |
| Giuliani Capital Advisors | the investment banking division of Giuliani Partners was sold to Macquarie Group in 2007 |
| Goodbody & Co. | merged into Merrill Lynch in 1970 |
| Gruntal & Co. | acquired by Ryan Beck & Co. in 2002 |
| H.B. Hollins & Co. | liquidated in 1913 |
| Halsey, Stuart & Co. | ultimately part of Wachovia |
| Hambrecht & Quist | acquired by Chase Manhattan Bank in 1999 and ultimately part of JPMorgan Chase; H&Q name continues as investment advisor |
| Hambros Bank | acquired by Société Générale in 1998 |
| Harriman Brothers & Company | merged with Brown Bros. & Co. in 1931 to form Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. |
| Hayden, Stone & Co. | acquired Shearson Hammill & Co. in 1974 and assumed the Shearson name; ultimately acquired by American Express in 1981. |
| HBOS | acquired by Lloyds TSB to form the Lloyds Banking Group in 2009 |
| Hill Samuel | acquired by Trustee Savings Bank (TSB) in 1987 later Lloyds TSB |
| Hornblower & Weeks | investment bank acquired by Loeb, Rhoades & Co. in 1977 and ultimately part of Shearson/American Express |
| J.&W. Seligman & Co. | investment bank ultimately part of UBS AG; continues as asset manager |
| J.C. Bradford & Co. | acquired by PaineWebber in 2000, ultimately part of UBS AG |
| John Nuveen & Co. | IBD acquired by Piper Jaffray in 1999; company continues as asset management house under Nuveen Investments, which is controlled by private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners |
| Kaufman Bros. | Ceased operations in 2012 |
| Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | acquired by Stifel in 2012, still maintain independent branding |
| Kidder, Peabody & Co. | acquired by General Electric Corporation in 1986, subsequently resold to PaineWebber in 1994 and ultimately part of UBS AG |
| Kleinwort Benson | acquired by Dresdner Bank in 1995 |
| Kuhn, Loeb & Co. | ultimately part of Lehman Brothers |
| L.F. Rothschild | ultimately part of C.E. Unterberg, Towbin, with parts sold to Oppenheimer; not to be confused with Rothschild & Co (the result of a merger of the British N.M. Rothschild & Sons with the French Rothschild & Cie); see Rothschild family |
| Lee, Higginson & Co. | liquidated 1932 |
| Lehman Brothers | bankrupt in 2008, asset sold to Barclays Capital and Nomura Holdings |
| Llama Company | ultimately defunct in 1998 after departure of Alice Walton |
| Loeb, Rhoades & Co. | acquired by Shearson Hammill & Co. to form Shearson Loeb Rhoades in 1979 which was later acquired by American Express in 1981 to form Shearson/American Express |
| McColl Partners | acquired by Deloitte in 2013 to form Deloitte Corporate Finance |
| Mendelssohn & Co. | aryanized by the Nazis in 1938, sold in parts to Deutsche Bank |
| Merrill Lynch & Co. | acquired by Bank of America in 2008 and integrated into Banc of America Securities to form Bank of America Merrill Lynch |
| Miller Buckfire & Co. | acquired by Stifel in 2012, still maintains independent branding |
| Montgomery Securities | acquired by NationsBank in 1997 and integrated into NationsBanc Capital Markets to form NationsBanc Montgomery Securities |
| Morgan & Cie | acquired by Morgan Stanley in 1967 and incorporated as Morgan et Compagnie International in Morgan Stanley International Incorporated in 1975 |
| Monnet, Murnane & Co. | liquidated 1945 |
| Morgan Grenfell | acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1990 |
| Morgan, Harjes & Co. | renamed Morgan & Cie in 1926 and acquired by Morgan Stanley in 1926 |
| Paine Webber | acquired by UBS AG in 2000. |
| Park Ryan | liquidated 1979 |
| Prudential Securities | acquired by Wachovia in 2003 |
| Reynolds Securities | merged with Dean Witter & Co. in 1978 to form Dean Witter Reynolds, subsequently merged with Morgan Stanley |
| Robert Fleming & Co. | acquired by JPMorgan Chase in 2000. |
| Robertson Stephens | acquired by BankAmerica in 1997 and integrated into BancAmerica Securities to form BancAmerica Robertson Stephens. Sold again in 1998 to BankBoston (later FleetBoston Financial and would operate as Robertson Stephens from 1998–2002, when the firm was shuttered after the collapse of the Internet bubble |
| Roosevelt & Son | Broken up into three firms in 1934: Roosevelt & Son (liquidated), Roosevelt & Weigold (today operates as Roosevelt & Cross); and Dick & Merle Smith |
| Ryan Beck & Co. | acquired by Stifel in 2007 |
| S. G. Warburg & Co | ultimately part of UBS AG; not to be confused with M.M. Warburg or Warburg Pincus; see Warburg family |
| Salomon Brothers | acquired by Travelers Group in 1997, ultimately part of Citigroup |
| Schroders | investment bank bought by Citigroup in 2000; continues as asset manager |
| Shearson/American Express | acquired Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb in 1984 to form Shearson Lehman/American Express, later Shearson Lehman Hutton and Shearson Lehman Brothers |
| Shearson, Hammill & Co. | renamed Shearson Loeb Rhoades after the 1979 acquisition of Loeb, Rhoades & Co. in 1979; acquired by American Express in 1981 to form Shearson/American Express |
| Shearson Lehman Hutton | renamed Shearson Lehman Brothers in 1990 and split up in 1993 with the IPO of Lehman Brothers and the sale of the retail and brokerage operations to Primerica |
| Soundview Technology Group | Acquired by Charles Schwab in 2003. |
| Swiss Bank Corporation | merged with Union Bank of Switzerland to form UBS AG |
| Union Bank of Switzerland | merged with Swiss Bank Corporation to form UBS AG |
| Wachovia Securities | acquired by Wells Fargo in 2008 and renamed Wells Fargo Securities |
| Wasserstein Perella & Co. | bought by Dresdner Bank in 2000. |
| Wertheim & Co. | acquired by Schroders, and ultimately by Salomon Smith Barney |
| White Weld & Co. | bought by Merrill Lynch in 1978. |
| Wood Gundy | acquired by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in 1987, operating as CIBC Wood Gundy before becoming CIBC World Markets in 1997 |
Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of debt or equity securities. An investment bank may also assist companies involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and provide ancillary services such as market making, trading of derivatives and equity securities, FICC services or research. Most investment banks maintain prime brokerage and asset management departments in conjunction with their investment research businesses. As an industry, it is broken up into the Bulge Bracket, Middle Market, and boutique market.
ABN AMRO Bank N.V. is the third-largest Dutch bank, with headquarters in Amsterdam. It was initially formed in 1991 by merger of the two prior Dutch banks that form its name, Algemene Bank Nederland (ABN) and Amsterdamsche en Rotterdamsche Bank.
Financial services are economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of service sector activities, especially as concerns financial management and consumer finance.
Bulge bracket banks are the world's largest global investment banks, serving mostly large corporations, institutional investors and governments. The term "Bulge Bracket" comes from the way investment banks are listed on the "tombstone", or public notification of a financial transaction, where the largest advisors on investment banking operations are listed first. The term is primarily related to the financial advisory side of the business, as opposed to sales and trading.
CIBC Capital Markets is the investment banking subsidiary of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The firm operates as an investment bank both in Canadian and global equity and debt capital markets. The firm provides a variety of financial services including equity and debt capital market products, mergers and acquisitions, global markets, merchant banking, and other investment banking advisory services.
Hambros Bank was a British bank based in London. The Hambros bank was a specialist in Anglo-Scandinavian business with expertise in trade finance and investment banking, and was the sole banker to the Scandinavian kingdoms for many years. The bank was sold in 1998, and today survives only in the name of the private banking division of the French group Société Générale.
LGT Group is the largest royal family-owned private banking and asset management group in the world. LGT, originally known as The Liechtenstein Global Trust, is owned by the princely House of Liechtenstein through the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation and led by its royal family members H.S.H. Prince Maximilian von und zu Liechtenstein (CEO) and H.S.H. Prince Philipp von und zu Liechtenstein (chairman).
Stifel Financial Corp. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company created under the Stifel name in July 1983 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange on November 24, 1986. Its predecessor company was founded in 1890 as the Altheimer and Rawlings Investment Company and is headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
Houlihan Lokey, Inc., is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company. Houlihan Lokey was founded in 1972 and is headquartered at Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles, California. The firm advises large public and closely held companies as well as institutions and governments. Its main service lines include mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, restructuring and distressed M&A, fairness opinions, and financial and valuation advisory. As of March 2024, Houlihan Lokey employs more than 2,600 employees worldwide.
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., a Stifel Company, is an investment banking firm headquartered in New York City, specializing exclusively in the financial services sector. KBW's primary business lines include research, corporate finance, equity sales and trading, equity capital markets, debt capital markets, and asset management.
A private placement agent or placement agent is a firm assisting fund managers in the alternative asset class and entrepreneurs/private companies seeking to raise private financing through a so-called private placement.
TD Securities is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services provider that offers advisory and capital market services to corporate, government, and institutional clients worldwide. The firm provides services in corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction services.
BMO Capital Markets is the investment banking subsidiary of Canadian Bank of Montreal. The company offers corporate, institutional and government clients access to a range of financial services. These include equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, merger and acquisitions advisory services, securitization, treasury management, market risk management, debt and equity research and institutional sales and trading.
A boutique investment bank is an investment bank that specializes in at least one aspect of investment banking, generally corporate finance, although some banks' strengths are retail in nature, such as Charles Schwab. Of those involved in corporate finance, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring and reorganizations are their primary activities. Boutiques usually provide advisory and consulting services, but lack capacity to provide funding. After the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, investment banks have either had a retail deposit base or have had funding from overseas owners or from Wealth Management arms. Boutique banks on the other hand often turn to other banks to provide funding or deal directly with capital rich firms such as insurers to provide capital for deals.
Mizuho Americas was established on July 1, 2016 as a US bank holding company, as the American corporate and investment banking arm of the Tokyo-based Mizuho Financial Group.
Selcuk Yorgancioglu is a Turkish/British financier. 'Yorgancioglu' is the founding partner of Tork Partners, an advisory and investment platform he founded in 2019 to invest with, advise and help manage private and institutional investors into Turkey and regional emerging markets. He also serves on the board of Bluegrove Equity Partners, a fund management firm focused on sustainable investments, and growth opportunities globally. A keen believer in e-commerce in growth markets, Yorgancioglu acted as a strategic advisor to the executive management of GittiGidiyor, a full subsidiary of eBay between 2020 and 2022. He also served as an independent board member and vice chairman of the risk & audit committee in BUPA Acıbadem Insurance company, a full subsidiary of BUPA UK between 2019 and 2023.
Greenhill & Co., Inc. is an American investment banking advisory firm founded in 1996 in New York by Robert F. Greenhill. The firm provides advice on significant mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, financings, and capital raisings to leading corporations, partnerships, institutions and governments across a number of industries. Since its inception, Greenhill has advised on transactions valued at close to $3 trillion.
An independent advisory firm is an investment bank that provides strategic and financial advice to clients primarily including corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. Revenues are typically generated by providing deal-specific advice related to mergers and acquisitions and financing. The WSJ noted in January 2016 that "boutique is a fuzzy label, defined as much by what these firms do as what they don’t do ."
NatWest Markets plc is the investment banking arm of NatWest Group based in the United Kingdom.
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