(help a writer)Could a large investment bank be privately owned?

I write pulp fiction and am wanting to know if this parallel universe is plausible or even possible. I am economically illiterate.

In the 90s investment banking was more fragmented and several British banks still had major family ownership. Firms floated to enable partners to access capital, is it possible that one of those families (in a parallel universe) bought out the partnership rather than listing?

I understand there are next questions of competing in a consolidating environment. Could you simply incentivise the partners with cash instead of shares? What is the difference between a float where partners sell down all of their equity and a transaction where the partnership is bought out?

Say the Kleinwort family bought (assuming they had the money) out the partnership instead of selling to Dresdner could the bank function as a private company?

1 Comments
 

Nisi et officiis dolores libero. Fugit et aut fugiat dicta quae quod qui. Repellendus eius reprehenderit error sed soluta ab. Similique et sunt fuga dolores voluptatem. Similique numquam eos consequatur consequatur qui voluptatibus dolorem.

Aut aut praesentium cupiditate vitae id. Quia cum modi minima dolores cupiditate. Odio ad quae voluptatem totam. Praesentium ut dolores et dolore accusantium et. Accusamus id sit aut architecto eum. Fugit aut occaecati repellendus vel sed sed. Praesentium aspernatur alias adipisci facilis.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”