Anyone who’s joined the investment banking sector knows that pitching to potential clients is one of the most painstaking tasks for newbies. But when FactSet rolls out its latest set of application programming interfaces (APIs), the process is set to become much easier and less of a hassle.

The data provider announced that it’s moving towards automating a number of processes in the investment banking industry. This is the company’s response to increasing pressure currently being experienced by bankers, thanks to heightened merger-and-acquisition activity over the past few months.

Originally a theoretical concept posited last year at one of the company’s in-house hackathons, these APIs will be used to connect different tools used by investment bankers to create a streamlined system. At this point, it is being used to create cohesive pitch books for presentations, but FactSet hopes to automate all tasks related to pitching entirely.

What is an API?

An API is a type of software that facilitates communication between various applications. These are commonly used to streamline work processes, particularly those which use a variety of tools.

FactSet’s catalog currently has around 200 of these APIs, half of which were developed earlier this year. These are deployed in a number of sectors, including research, analytics, and pricing. 

35 of the company’s APIs were specifically designed for investment banking. Indeed, earnings from FactSet’s investment banking business have grown by 8% over the previous quarter.

A better way to work

Throughout the first half of 2021, dealmaking has grown exponentially throughout the world, with around $2.3 trillion worth earned through mergers and acquisitions. Unfortunately, the banking sector is hard-pressed to keep up as people can only do so much at any given time. In which case, FactSet APIs are seen as a way to make things easier.

According to FactSet chief product officer Kristina Karnovsky, the APIs respond to the increased demand in the banking industry for an additional workforce to keep up with the growing number of ongoing and impending deals.

“Clients just can’t hire enough bankers to keep up with the volume,” Karnovsky says. It prompted her and her team to consider a better way to work – one that doesn’t depend so much on the workforce and also allows junior bankers to devote their time to other, more critical transactions.

 “[Banks need to automate] certain parts of the workflow with the technology that we have,” she added.