Bank of America Merrill Lynch retained its spot as the top municipal book-runner in 2015, as Citi jumped into second place and the gap between the three biggest muni underwriters narrowed.
After finishing in second place during the first quarter, BAML topped the quarterly rankings for the rest of the year, posting a par amount of $49.30 billion in 468 transactions, or 13.1% of market share, for 2015, according to data from Thomson Reuters.
"We are very grateful for the ongoing support of our clients and are looking forward to serving them again in 2016," said John Lawlor, head of municipal banking and markets group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
In 2014 BAML wrote $44.54 and had a 14.1% market share.
All top 10 firms wrote more business in 2015 than they did in 2014. Goldman, Sachs's business slipped as the firm fell out of the top 10. The increase in par amounts for each firm is due in large part to the surge of refunding issuance in 2015.
Citi moved up to second place in the rankings, after finishing third in 2014. Citi closed the year with a par amount of $43.49 billion in 484 deals or 11.5% market share. In 2014, Citi accounted for $31.11 billion and 9.9% market share.
"Our market share significantly increased over the past year," said David Brownstein, head of public finance at Citi. "We are proud of our efforts in response to our clients but we think it's an important component -- we believe market share is as important as the ranking itself."
Citi was part of the restructuring for Jefferson County and the Detroit Water and Sewer last year and plans to continue to focus on distressed credits.
"While we hope that the market for distressed municipal credits remains small, we believe we are the most capable firm to get the job done," said Brownstein.
Citi has benefited from keeping the same core group together for many years, according to Ward Marsh, head of the municipal securities division.
"I am extremely proud of the ability of our team to look over the horizon and see what is coming next. Here at Citi, this group has been together and doing this for many years," said Marsh.
JPMorgan dropped one spot to third place, even as the par value of its deals rose to $41.69 billion in 392 issues from $37.61 billion in 338 issues. The bank's market share slipped to 11% from 12%.
"Lead managed negotiated volume for us was up about 24% year over year and we were pleased with that," said Jamison Feheley, head of banking and public finance at JPMorgan. "Additionally, a significant portion of our business in not-for-profit healthcare and higher education involved offerings with corporate CUSIPS. We lead managed over $2 billion of these this past year that are not accounted for in the traditional league tables. Those transactions account for a significant increase in our market share and contribute to our strong results for the year."
Feheley also noted that this was one of the tighter years among the top three in terms of market share and it's been that way for a good portion of the year, as the municipal market continues to be very competitive.
"For the most part we will maintain the same focus that we have had the last several years. With that being said, we see a growing pipeline in the P3/Project Finance space and that is one area where we will continue to commit resources," said Feheley.
Morgan Stanley remained in fourth place with $31.65 billion in 430 transactions and 8.4% market share. Wells Fargo rounds out the top five for the second year in a row with $24.84 billion in 308 deals, good for 6.6% of market share.
RBC Capital Markets stayed in sixth place with $24.53 billion in 722 deals, posting a 0.2% uptick in market share from the previous year, finishing 2015 with 6.5% of the business.
"Our clients' continued trust and confidence in RBC for their financing needs has been integral in enabling the firm to increase our market share significantly this past year," said Chris Hamel, managing director and head of municipal finance at RBC.
Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc., gained two spots to seventh with $17.53 billion and increased its market share to 4.6% from 3.9% in 2014. Stifel also had the most deals for the second year in a row, finishing with 889 transactions. Barclays dropped one spot to eighth with $16.76 billion; Raymond James dipped a spot to ninth with $16.55 billion; Piper Jaffray moved up a spot to 10th with $14.77 billion; Goldman, Sachs dropped one spot to No. 11 with $11.47 billion.
Negotiated Underwriting
Citi topped the list for negotiated deals by a slim margin of $36.8 million, just edging out BAML. Citi finished the year with $32.92 billion of negotiated deals written, while BAML finished with $32.88 billion.
JPMorgan came in a close third, with $32.12 billion, as RBC and Morgan Stanley round out the top five. This ends a streak of seven consecutive years in which Morgan Stanley held the fourth spot.
Competitive Underwriting
The competitive league table was anything but as BAML was safely ahead in first place. BAML finished with $16.42 billion of competitive deals written, good for 18.8% market share.
Citi moved up a spot to second with $10.57 billion, switching spots with JPMorgan, which finished with $9.58 billion. Morgan Stanley remained in the same spot as a year ago, finishing with $8.19 billion and Wells Fargo rounded out the top five with $8.17 billion.
The biggest jump belongs to Barclays, which skyrocketed to 10th place in 2015 from No. 20 in 2014. Barclays finished the year with $2.48 billion, up from the $520 million of competitive deals in 2014. The bank also increased the number of competitive transactions it worked on to 18 in 2015 from four the previous year.
PFM Extends Lead for FA's
Public Financial Management not only remained at the top of the financial advisors league table but also increased its lead over competitors. PFM finished the year with $62.07 billion in 1,009 transactions which equates to 19.9% of the market.
"In the increasingly complex regulatory environment and the low but uncertain interest rate market that typified 2015, PFM is honored to have clients who value a relationship with an independent, trusted advisor," said John Bonow, chief executive officer and managing director for the PFM Group. "We expect that the fiduciary responsibilities that are the foundation of our advice will continue to be valued by clients in various sectors."
PFM saw year—over-year increases market share, transactions and par amount. Bonow is hopeful that 2016 will be a year in which those governments and institutions charged with providing quality infrastructure and services to citizens can get the resources they need.
"Based on many economic factors and despite the financial stress associated with some jurisdictions, we generally think 2016 will provide stable capital markets for most issuers and that intermediate and long term borrowing rates will remain relatively low. In partnership with our clients, we except to maintain PFM's strong market leadership position in 2016 and beyond," Bonow said.
FirstSouthwest moved up one spot to number two, finishing the year with $32.15 billion, while Public Resources Advisory Group dropped to third place with $30.90 billion. Piper Jaffray moved up four spots to number four with $9.57 billion and Acacia Financial Group Inc., remained in the fifth spot with $9.09 billion.
Top Issuers of 2015
The league table that featured the most changes is the issuer rankings, as only three of the top five remained.
The Dormitory Authority for the State of New York finished in first place in 2015 after coming in third place last year. DASNY issued $9.09 billion of bonds this year in 34 deals, up from $4.18 billion and 22 deals last year.
The state of California fell one spot to No. 2, after issuing $6.38 billion of debt this year in 11 transactions, very similar to the $6.24 billion and 11 transactions the Golden State issued last year when they finished in first place.
The New York City Transitional Finance Authority improved one spot to No. 3 after issuing $5.47 billion in 15 issues, improving on $3.83 billion and 14 issues in 2014.
The top five rounds out with two of the biggest movers on the list: the city of Chicago and the state of Connecticut.
Chicago finished the year issuing $4.24 billion in 12 deals, increasing on its 2014 numbers of $2.58 billion and 11 deals as it looks to solve fiscal problems.
The Nutmeg state moves up two spots from last year and rounds out the top five, finishing with $3.61 billion over 33 transactions.
The Regents of the University of California, the Texas Transportation Commission, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey round out the top 10.
