L'offerta di servizi di corporate finance: le specificità del contesto italiano

The aim of the study is to analyze the Italian market of corporate finance services from both the demand and the supply side, also identifying available future growth potentials for domestic advisors. The main verified hypothesis is the higher ability of commercial banks, when compared to investment banks, to supply advisory services instrumental to corporate finance transactions, at least in the domestic context, where the demand is mainly coming from small and medium size firms and is typically focused towards customized services aimed at successfully implementing ownership structure reconfigurations, such as leveraged acquisitions and turnarounds of distressed firms. Furthermore, the demand side of the market seems to particularly appreciate the synergic potential stemming from the combination of lending and corporate finance activities, rather than the higher expertise and reputation gained over time by investment banks. Finally, domestic commercial banks tend to utilize «lighter» structures – that is with a lower incidence of fixed costs over the total operating expenses – than investment banks for their corporate finance activities