divided account

Divided Account

In underwriting, a portion of a new issue that a member of a syndicate is responsible for placing with investors. Each underwriting firm in a syndicate is responsible only for its own divided account. If a member of the syndicate fails to place its portion with investors, other underwriters are under no obligation to assist that member. This contrasts with an undivided account, in which underwriters are each assigned a portion of a new issue, but each underwriter is responsible for placing the whole issue.

divided account

The account of an underwriting syndicate when sales and liability are apportioned individually rather than shared jointly. Compare undivided account.