Investment Banking Since 1900: an Unexplored Field in American Financial History

Businessmen are accustomed to thinking of the capital they use as of two types: short-term and long-term. Short-term capital is the capital which is used typically to finance seasonal peaks in business activity, such as the rush at Christmastime; it is borrowed from commercial banks and must be repaid in a short time, usually less than a year. Long-term capital may be either equity capital, invested by the owners of the business, or borrowed capital, on loan to the owners for a number of years. Long-term capital is usually obtained by businessmen through investment bankers. There are many exceptions to these generalizations, and the exceptions have been increasing in number in recent years, but historically and in theory these general statements may be treated as working definitions.