Consider the multiplication operator MB in $L^2(\mathbb{T})$, where the symbol B is a finite Blaschke product. In this article, we characterize the commutant of MB in $L^2(\mathbb{T})$. As an application of this characterization result, we explicitly determine the class of conjugations commuting with $M_{z^2}$ or making $M_{z^2}$ complex symmetric by introducing a new class of conjugations in $L^2(\mathbb{T})$. Moreover, we analyse their properties while keeping the whole Hardy space, model space and Beurling-type subspaces invariant. Furthermore, we extended our study concerning conjugations in the case of finite Blaschke products.

Motivated by the near invariance of model spaces for the backward shift, we introduce a general notion of $(X,Y)$-invariant operators. The relations between this class of operators and the near invariance properties of their kernels are studied. Those lead to orthogonal decompositions for the kernels, which generalize well-known orthogonal decompositions of model spaces. Necessary and sufficient conditions for those kernels to be nearly X-invariant are established. This general approach can be applied to a wide class of operators defined as compressions of multiplication operators, in particular to Toeplitz operators and truncated Toeplitz operators, to study the invariance properties of their kernels (general Toeplitz kernels).

The relationship between the distribution of zeros of an infinite Blaschke product $B$ and the inclusion in weighted Bergman spaces $A_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}}^{p}$ of the derivative of $B$ or the derivative of functions in its model space $H^{2}\ominus \mathit{BH}^{2}$ is investigated.