A new book on the relationship between banks and corporates is a challenge that must be accepted: we need to revert the narrative on banks and provide a proper perspective on what they can do for the economy overall. Corporate and Investment Banking is in fact the banking activity that most affects the growth of companies and their ability to be more robust and competitive. In the financial world, the key variable for development is technology, enabling the use of information to the benefit of customers. For the corporate market, the tailor-made design of products involves a more complex choice, which entails the replacement of credit services open to the whole range of financial operations: from debt capital markets, equity capital markets, private equity and restructuring to M&A deals. In this sense, the role of banks is crucial because only banks have knowledge and authority to push and guide managers and entrepreneurs to choices that are not easy, such as to open up their capital and use the markets for funding, acting as an advisor, an investor, or a financial sponsor. All these decisions are decisive for their growth. And that is precisely the good service that banks can offer to the European growth.
