Corporate banking is a part of commercial banking, but the part that the average depositor with a checking and savings account never sees. While banks hold money and mortgages, lend money, extend or open a line of credit for the average depositor, it is business that needs the major financial services to build new plants, erect office buildings and condominium skyscrapers, float bonds to build new schools and make structural improvements on old ones, and start new business ventures including the explosion of dot com businesses on the Internet.

Investment banking is now at the pinnacle of financial careers. The consumer’s need for one-stop shopping in financial services is propelling banks, all sizes and levels, to broaden their base of services to include underwriting, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, trading, financial engineering, money management and more. Only the larger banks will incorporate these new departments into their existing financial services, while smaller and community-type banks will partner with a brokerage firm or investment bank for these services.