| Where Macquarie makes its money | |
| Asset & infrastructure | 35% |
| Treasury & commodities | 26% |
| Corporate finance | 11% |
| Banking and property | 10% |
| Investment services | 9% |
| Equities | 9% |
| Direct investment | 0% |
| Profit (half year to Sept 1998) | A$80.5m (+25%) |
| Source: Macquarie | |
You said recently that commercial banks can't do investment banking. Can you elaborate?
Allan Moss: Commercial banks find it very hard to maintain a commitment to investment banking. Historically you can see a number of cycles. In the 1970s and 1980s as well as in the 1990s commercial banks have moved into and out of investment banking. The reasons they've moved in is - superficially at least - because margins sometimes look attractive and they are responding to what they perceive to be a threat of competition from investment banks. The reason they move out is because there are major cultural differences, they often find risk management quite challenging, and find it too distracting from a management perspective and ultimately not worth the effort.