Corporate Bond Underwriters Grow More Diverse
- Bond deals including minority firms at 19% versus 6% in 2012
- Minority-owned banks benefit even as Wall Street lags behind
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Investment banks owned by women, people of color and veterans are underwriting a record number of corporate bond offerings, reflecting a push by issuers to boost diversity among the financial firms that help them sell debt.
About 19 percent of U.S. corporate bond offerings this year were sold at least in part by minority-owned firms, up from less than 6 percent of deals in 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Companies in the financial services and technology industries have been among the most active in selling bonds through banks owned by women, minorities and veterans.