ECM = Equity Capital Markets

The ECM department acts as an intermediary between market investors and the issuers of equity, or quasi-equity, as well as existing shareholders in a company who wish to sell a significant stake.

The types of transactions handled by this department include IPOs and new issues of shares or convertible bonds, as well as the sale of blocks of shares through what is known as a secondary market offering or an accelerated book building (ABB).

The ECM department  generally includes origination, structuring and syndication teams.