Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. jumped up the municipal bond senior manager ranks in the first quarter, rising to ninth place from 18th on the strength of two big airport and utility revenue deals.
Citigroup placed number one for total deal volume, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch following slightly behind at second and JPMorgan Chase at third, according to Thomson Reuters data. RBC came in fourth and Barclays Capital fifth.
Siebert grabbed 3.6% of the market in the first quarter of 2014 after handling only 0.8% a year earlier. It managed nine issuances totaling $2.2 billion, all of which were negotiated
"Our plan is to be mean and lean, but very aggressive nationally," Suzanne Shank, president and chief executive officer of Siebert, said in an interview.
Siebert ranked high in airports, transportation, and water and sewage, which it considers its top underwriting spots, according to Shank. It was the No. 1 senior manager nationally for negotiated airport and water-sewer financings, and ranked third for all transportation issues, Thomson Reuters data indicated.
"Of course everyone does GOs and general infrastructure, but [airports, transportation, and water and sewer] are the main areas we do large deals for very prolific clients across the country," Shank said.
Siebert's biggest deal last quarter was the $846.5 million Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport general revenue and passenger facility charge bond sale in March.
"The Atlanta airport transaction was a refunding transaction that saved the city of $73 million in present-value savings," Shank said.
While the firm is trying to remain "mean and lean" overall, Shank said it has been adding to and restructuring its management team.
"We made a strategic effort in the last year to increase our management branch, bringing on key people and elevating certain people within the firm," she said.
New hires included former New York City comptroller and 2013 mayoral candidate Bill Thompson and former JPMorgan executive director Gary Hall.
"We structure different coupon strategies within each maturity so we can get the most aggressive rate," Shank said.
Shank and other executives in public finance said that firms have had to adapt to the unusually low issuance in 2014's first quarter. "We are seeing three to four billion per week on average," she said. "Our goal is whenever we have a transaction, its important."
Issuance from January to March in 2014 fell to $62.5 billion from $84.4 billion for the three months in 2013.
"With low supply and favorable market technicals in the first quarter, we were able to distribute the transactions more efficiently," Paul Palmeri, head of public finance at JPMorgan, said in an interview.
Citigroup held its number one ranking, nabbing 13.5% of the market with 75 issues totaling $8.7 billion. Last year Citi was beaten out by both BofA and JPMorgan, taking third with 10% of the market in the first quarter.
The bank climbed the ranks over 2013, and finally unseated BofA in last year's fourth quarter when it nabbed 13.4% of the market and reached number one. BofA had been lead senior manager for 2012 and most of 2013.
For 2014's first quarter, BofA and JPMorgan each fell one spot to second and third place, respectively. BofA's market share dipped by 4.6% to 10.2% and JPMorgan's by 5.1% to 9.6%.
JPMorgan won the most competitive deals in 2014, ranking first with a 19.2% market share managing $2.74 billion.
"We made a concerted effort based on the supply outlook in the first quarter to establish a greater presence in the competitive market," Palmeri said.
Barclays broke into the top five after placing seventh at the beginning of 2013. It was the lead underwriter of the top deal of the quarter, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's $3.5 billion general obligation issuance.
In an email a spokesman for Barclay said the sale was "a defining event for the market."
The Puerto Rico deal helped Barclays increase its market share by 3.8% from the first quarter of 2013, helping the bank rebound from 2013 when to descended four slots to No. 11 by the fourth quarter.
RBC also was on the Puerto Rico GO sale, which helped it rise to fourth, from eighth in first quarter of 2013.
Chris Hamel, head of muni finance at RBC Capital Markets, said that in the low-volume environment every business opportunity is "doubly appreciated".
"Three months doesn't make a year, but we have had a strong start confirming RBC among the top U.S. municipal underwriters," Hamel said.
Wells Fargo & Co. was the only bank that fell out of the top five from the first quarter of 2013, going to sixth from fourth. "Our strategy remains focused on earning trusted relationships. As I've said before, when we take care of our customers, rankings take care of themselves," said Phil Smith, head of government and institutional banking at Wells Fargo.
Competition in the bond insurance market was tight in the first quarter, with Assured Guaranty taking 51.8% of the insured market, or $1.42 billion, including $284.3 million by its Municipal Assurance Corp. unit.
Build America Mutual increased par amount to $1.33 billion across 135 deals from the first quarter in 2013, when it insured $862 million across an almost equal number of deals.
"We are particularly pleased with the number of transactions BAM insured in the primary market, because that demonstrates the value that we are delivering to the small- and medium-sized issuers in our core market," Sean McCarthy, chief executive officer of BAM, said in an email.
Assured said it expects last month's S&P upgrade to AA and the increase in volume insured by MAC to add to its leadership position.
"We were pleased with both our primary and secondary insured volume this quarter, especially the increase in par written by MAC, which indicates the market's positive response to our new muni-only platform," Robert Tucker, managing director of corporate communications and investor relations, said in an email.
For financial advisors Public Financial Management and FirstSouthwest maintained their spots in first and second place respectively.
