In the not-too-distant past of 2007, the iPhone was only available for AT&T (Cingular), who had an exclusive right to sell 'em.
When it comes to selling US treasury and municipal bonds, only a dealer bank, which is a commercial bank registered with the MSRB (Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board), is authorized to sell them as a principal. Same idea as T and the iPhone. Any other investment bank or financial institution is obtaining them to sell as a broker and purchasing them from a dealer bank for resale.
This trading plate is a key source of revenue for JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and other commercial banks. Of course, when the dealing banks who were making money hand over fist in FNMA and FDMC subprime mortgage bonds got hit with the collapse of that market, they made money on top by acquiring established brokerages such as Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Bros for pennies on the dollar.
Moral of the tale: It pays off to be in bed with the government. Careful...they hog the covers.
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Finance: What is a Full-Service Broker?3 Views
Finance a la shmoop what is a full-service broker? full-service
"everything" close relative of the bulge bracket remember those guys want
to trade stocks here at this full service brokerage well you got it [Clipboard appears with checklist]
how about trading some bonds yep need investment advice hoo you bet we got rap
accounts here too does it have to be good advice well it's different gonna
retire well they'll suggest Goodyear or fire stone or Michelin if they're you
know socialist and European gonna quit working and play golf all day well then [Man playing golf]
a full service broker has advice for that as well want tax planning yep
referrals to other professionals like estate planning lawyers and that kind of
stuff got a kid heading to college in a decade all right well it's time to talk
529 savings plan got a grandparent dying soon whoo time to talk IRA distributions
and charity need Warriors tickets yeah what well they're full service they just
build they'll charge you for it but they're full full something [State Warriors basketball team playing a game]
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