Investment banking services: ownership structures, financial advisory and corporate governance models

This study is based on the premise that mostly large enterprises require investment banking services, due to their complexity and the difficult scenarios in which they operate. Accordingly, we empirically investigate the hypothesis that both the type of ownership structures and the quality of governance are correlated with the demand for specific investment banking services. The analysis is developed by using a proxy for the propensity of enterprises to demand these services, making reference to an extended definition of investment banking activity. The empirical analysis performed on a sample of 150 enterprises showed that the investment banking propensity indicator is significantly correlated with ownership and governance variables. Next, we verify whether companies characterised by greater probability of access to investment banking services show better income performance. However, no conclusive and univocal conclusions can be drawn yet with regard to the linkage between investment banking propensity and performance.