Struggle and Survival on Wall Street

U.S. securities firms are the most competitive in the world and are now facing challenges posed by the internationalization of securities markets. To remain competitive in this ever-changing environment, some of these firms have evolved into dynamic international financial services firms offering investors and corporate clients increasingly diverse services. Struggle and Survival on Wall Street: The Economics of Competition Among Securities Firms provides a timely and comprehensive economic analysis of competition among securities firms. John Matthews uses an industrial organization approach to analyze the interaction of the industry's structure, conduct and performance. To beat the competition and meet the needs of their customers, he argues, firms develop new financial products, some of which become new lines of business. The most important decisions firms make concern the methods of entry into these lines of business. Those firms that successfully innovate and adapt their organizations are in the best position to deal with both domestic and international competition. The regulatory framework of the industry is vital to its growth and Matthews makes insightful and realistic policy recommendations which urge regulators, particularly the Securities and Exchange Commission, to provide for a framework in which organizational change can take place. This book is unique in that it is the first comprehensive study of securities firms (or broker-dealers) from an industrial organization perspective. It will be of great interest to economists interested in industrial organization, finance and financial institutions, and money and banking, financial services professionals, the securities bar, aswell as students of financial services and general readers interested in investing.