Wall Street wise: Valley struggles to come of age as investment banking player.(investment banking in Arizona)

Phoenix is registering as more than just a blip on the screen for investment bankers who bring deals to Wall Street.

Now most Arizona companies go out of state for transactions that can lead to going public. That leaves a gap in services for the state's many middle-market companies. They often don't have the capital needs that meet minimum requirements for these big-name firms to do a deal.

Some investment bankers recognize the rising strength of Arizona companies and are opening offices here to try to fill this gap. Many expect to see a thriving capital-markets sector in Arizona such as is found in Boston or San Francisco within the next decade.

"Five to 10 years from now, our economy may look very different from what it does today," said Dee Harris, who recently opened a Phoenix office of Carmichael & Co., a New York investment banking firm. Harris is a former director of the Securities Division at the Arizona …