The name means little outside Tampa Bay, although the bank's national exposure has increased considerably since it purchased the naming rights to the stadium in 1998. In Tampa, though, Raymond James carries great clout. It's not just specifically focused on business activity. Dobkin says Raymond James would have a big impact on the local business community even if it weren't independent, but he wonders how committed an outside owner would be to Tampa Bay. You might get a different answer in regards to what it would mean for the local community.
Major companies are more supportive of their corporate headquarters cities.
In essence, the bank has its own identity, with the potency of a behemoth in the background. The continued growth of Raymond James' brokerage business has made the firm one of the nation's strongest retail brokers, but the investment banking operations have lagged, making up just 4.82 percent of total revenues in 2000. In part, that reflects a cold IPO market in the latter half of 2000. Few IPOs and even fewer lead-management opportunities hurt investment banks like Raymond James because lead managers keep up to 80 percent of the shares for their institutional investors and better brokerage clients, leaving fewer shares for other members of the syndicate, says Ritter. With IPOs becoming a real important marketing tool in the last few years, having IPO shares to hand out to clients has become more important.