Underwriter - Underwriter

A securities underwriter is someone who performs the core business of a securities company. In the continental financial system centered around Germany, banking and securities businesses were not separated, and banks could also perform securities underwriting, as shown by the fact that they were called "universal banks." However, in Japan and the United States, the systems separated banking and securities businesses, so underwriting work has been understood as a business unique to the securities industry that distinguishes it from banking. However, in the recent trend toward internationalization of finance, including the so-called financial big bang that allowed mutual entry between the financial and securities industries, although separation based on transaction type is necessary, there is no longer any meaning in separating banking and securities as a business type.

Securities underwriting can be divided into underwriting of public securities and underwriting of private securities (stocks and corporate bonds). As the former involves a lower level of risk, attention has been focused on private securities issuance. When focusing on the sharing of risk associated with securities issuance in corporate fundraising, securities issuance can be divided into direct issuance and indirect issuance. Underwriters carry out indirect issuance, where the securities dealer themselves bears the risk and underwrites the securities issuance. This can be further divided into "purchase underwriting," where the entire amount of the issued securities is purchased, and "guaranteed underwriting," where the securities dealer collects a fee and underwrites the issuance of the securities, with the securities company only responsible for the unsold portion.

Securities dealers are originally engaged in the business of trading securities themselves, trading on behalf of others, offering public offerings, and underwriting, and in order to carry out underwriting, they are required to have specialized knowledge and skills in determining the issue price and total amount of the securities, as well as financial strength and market credibility, but in recent years, with the expansion of the range of securities to include derivatives (financial derivative products), underwriting has become a normal business for securities dealers. As the Big Bang progresses, the securities industry has shifted from a license system to a registration system, and this trend has become even stronger.

[Nori Ishino and Takuo Maeda]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

証券会社の中核をなす業務を行う証券引受人のこと。ドイツを中心とする大陸系の金融制度では、銀行業務と証券業務が分離されず、「ユニバーサル銀行」とよばれるように、銀行も証券引受業務ができた。しかし、日本やアメリカでは銀行と証券業務とを分離する制度であったため、アンダーライター業務は、銀行と区別する証券業の固有な業務と理解されてきた。しかし最近の金融業と証券業との相互参入を可能としたいわゆる金融ビッグバンをはじめとする金融の国際化の流れのなかでは、取引形態による分離は必要であるものの、業態として、銀行と証券とを分離する意味はなくなっている。

　証券引受業務は、公的な証券の引受業務と、民間証券（株式や社債）発行に関する引受業務とに区別できる。前者はリスクの程度が低いため、民間証券の発行業務に注目が集まっている。企業の資金調達において証券発行に伴うリスクの分担に視点を置くと、証券発行は直接発行と間接発行とに分けられる。アンダーライターが行うのは、証券業者自身がリスクを負担して証券発行を引き受ける間接発行である。それはさらに、発行証券の全額を買い取る「買取引受」の方法と、手数料を徴収して証券の発行を引き受け、売れ残りの部分のみ証券会社が責任をもつ「保証引受」という方法とがある。

　証券業者は本来、証券の自己売買、委託売買、募集売出し、それに引受売出しの業務を行うものであり、引受業務を執行するには、証券の発行価格や発行の総額などの決定に関する専門的な知識、技能、それに資金力と市場での信用力などが求められるが、最近では、デリバティブ（金融派生商品）業務など有価証券の範囲の拡大化とともに、引受業務も証券業者の普通の業務になっている。ビッグバンの進行とともに証券業は免許制から登録制へ移行しているので、この傾向はさらに強まっている。

［石野　典・前田拓生］

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