BRADENTON, Fla. - Contraction in the bond underwriting business has opened doors for Southwest Securities Inc. to expand into the Southeast, an official with the Dallas-based underwriter and financial adviser said.
The firm has hired two veteran public finance professionals, Cliff Steinhauer from A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., which recently merged with Wachovia Bank NA, and Joe Niggel, formerly with UBS Securities LLC, which announced the closure of its muni group on May 6.
Steinhauer is Southwest Securities' vice president of regional trading and underwriting for the Southeast based in North Palm Beach, Fla. Niggel is a managing director of public finance based in Charlotte, N.C.
"We're attempting to put a footprint down in the southeastern part of the United States and having the ability to bring on board two 30-year professionals like Cliff Steinhauer and Joe Niggel only makes good sense," said Richard Litton, executive vice president of Southwest. "We hope to add additional banking and commitment presence to that part of the U.S."
Southwest has five public finance offices in Texas, and one each in California, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and New York. It has trading desks in California, Texas, and New York.
The firm ranked 31st among the top 100 senior managers last year, acting as the lead manager on 138 offerings with a par amount of $1.75 billion. The firm ranked 25th among the top 100 financial advisers, advising on 114 transactions totaling $2.08 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
