Scott Bok on How Bankers Spread the Gospel of Capitalism
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts, Radio, News.
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Oddlots podcast. I'm Jill Weisenthal.
And I'm Tracy Alloway. Tracy,
I would say that within the broader realm of finance and markets and Wall Street and stuff that we cover, like deals and deal making, I kinda we maybe we don't cover it enough.
Yeah, it's kind of I guess it's unfortunate because I think when a lot of people think about Wall Street, I mean the guy doing big MA deals, the rainmaker, is kind of one of the images that people have in their minds. I guess alongside, you know, traders taking oodles of risk. I think people are always thinking about the guy on the phone who's like, you know, talking to his big client. He's gonna strike this big multi-billion dollar deal. So yeah, lots of interest.
Yeah, there's like two images. Right. The guy staring at his screen, clicking either buy or sell as the line moves really fast. And then someone you know networking over
long.
Golfing and having a nice lunch and stuff, but I don't really know I mean I don't know that much about the first one.
What is the core role of an investment banker and why do companies pay huge fees?
I really don't know that much about the second one. Those seem like very good jobs. I think I would be very terrible at that job. But yeah, there's so much to learn on that. I have so many questions about this area, and we should probably talk about deals and the trajectory of deals and the history of deals and the future of deals a little bit more.
Let's do it. So I have to say I used to cover the investment banks for the FT. And within that, there was obviously quite a lot about the MA business. The one thing I know for sure is that the bulge brackets, even though MA is not the entirety of their business, as you know, they care a lot about it. They care a lot about the leap tables and who's doing better than whatever other firm. It's extremely competitive. So let's dig into it.
You know, just to reveal my own ignorance a little bit more, I don't even think I have a great handle on the question of why within one firm banking and trading are often parts of the same company.
Oh, why they're the same company? Oh, I thought I thought you were gonna say you didn't understand why they were separated. And that's why I was shocked.
No, like why within a large firm These are natural complements to each other as part of the business. Even that I don't have a great handle on.
I have a feeling that our guest knows exactly the answer to that question.
We do indeed have the perfect guest. We are going to be speaking with Scott Bach, the longtime former chairman and CEO of the investment bank Greenhill and Company. He is out with a new book called Surviving Wall Street. So, Scott, thank you so much for uh coming on Oddlots. It's great to be here. Thank you. There's so much I want to talk about, and it's so bad that we could probably spend an hour with you just answering very rudimentary questions about the business. This seems like kind Of a waste of your time. I have a random question, one I've always wondered about for so long. You can make a lot of money in investment banking, in deal making, and making deals happen. What does the investment banker bring to the table?
You know, I always think a company wants to buy another company, why can't they just go find it in-house? What does the investment banker bring to the table that's so valuable that companies, at least in some cases, are willing to? Yeah.
You know, I actually answered that question early in the book because I think most people don't really understand.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–1:53
2
What is the core role of an investment banker and why do companies pay huge fees?
1:53–6:34
3
How did Scott Bok’s early career and the formation of Greenhill shape the boutique M&A landscape?
6:34–10:03
4
What cultural differences exist between traders and M&A bankers, and how do they affect dealmaking?
10:03–13:49
5
How did the wave of globalization in the 1980s and 1990s drive the rise of cross‑border M&A?
13:49–17:35
6
What impact is de‑globalization having on Wall Street and the future of dealmaking?
17:35–22:01
7
How is the post‑pandemic environment reshaping M&A strategy and the role of advisory firms?
22:01–26:46
8
Do you have any regrets about spreading the shareholder‑value gospel worldwide?
26:46–56:03
Speakers
8 identifiedMore from Odd Lots
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