Trophies for bankers

Bankers aren’t all that different from Little League baseball players. When they win, they want a trophy. In banking, they’re called deal toys or tombstones — Lucite statues small enough to display on a desk or shelf, but big enough to be noticed.

Bankers get them to commemorate big transactions. And 2015 was a record year for big business deals, with $4.9 trillion in mergers and acquisitions worldwide, according to Dealogic. 

Deal toys can run anywhere from $40 to $400 and up. A merger could require dozens of trophies. Mega deals have bigger teams and could lead to orders in the hundreds.