Читать книгу Investment Banking For Dummies - Matthew Krantz - Страница 94

Sell-side analysts have to walk a fine line between serving the wants of the companies going public and the demands of investors who rely on the research being accurate and truthful. This divide is so blurred that periodically an analyst or firm steps over it.

Perhaps the biggest crackdown in the failure of investment banks to preserve the integrity of their research reports came in 2003. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators penalized ten of the largest investment banks at the time for conflicts of interest between their investment banking units and their research teams. This incident is covered in more detail in Chapter 19. For now, just know that regulators found that the investment banks were more interested in currying favor with companies looking to go public, and generate big IPO fees, than providing helpful and accurate information to investors. And huge changes were made to the research business as a result. For instance, research analysts were no longer allowed to join in any pitches (including at the roadshows) to get investment banking business.

Two analysts, Jack Grubman and Henry Blodget, formerly of Salomon Smith Barney and Merrill, Lynch respectively, were personally named in the global settlement. Both were fined and permanently barred from the securities business.