underwriter

1. A member of an insurance company or a *Lloyd’s syndicate who decides whether or not to accept a particular risk for a specified premium. In general, the public only deal with underwriters through a broker.
2. An individual, finance company, or issuing house who undertakes for an agreed remuneration to acquire, at their issue price less a discount, those securities of a company that are not taken up by the public during a *flotation.

In both cases the underwriter may relieve himself of part of his liability by effecting similar arrangements with subunderwriters.