Tough sell: only a small handful of banks has been willing to do what it takes to crack investment banking's ranks. Cleveland's two regionals like the challenge.(CAPITAL MARKETS)(Key Bank N.A.; National City Corp.)

ABA Banking Journal, April, 2007 by Valentine, Lisa

It's been eight years since the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act lifted the restrictions keeping commercial banks from directly engaging in investment banking. But other than an initial flurry of activity after the passage of the act by the largest global money center banks (and before passage in the case of Citicorp), the mid-tier and regional banks have mostly shied away from capital markets.

In a September speech at the Financial Services Roundtable Leadership Lunch, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox told attendees, "All in all, the seven year stretch from enact merit of Gramm-Leach-Bliley until today is a disappointing record of indecision and inaction. We've made several efforts to cross home plate, but all our runners have been left...

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