Barclays Plc, one of the top 10 managing underwriters, has replenished the ranks of its municipal finance team with nine new hires following the exit of at least 10 muni employees so far this year.
The staff departures came after Barclays handed out company bonuses. The departing employees were unsatisfied with their compensation during the mid-March annual bonuses, according to three sources.
Of the 10 people who have left, nine were from sales, trading and underwriting, while one was a housing banker.
Eight employees are looking for or have landed at other firms, while two others, Frank Vitiello, who started at Barclays in 2008, and Thomas Greco, retired.
Of the eight who left, three landed at Texas Regional Bank: Joshua Prell, who had been a director in municipal sales; Mike Killeen, who had been a director in municipal trading; and Kristen Cummins, who had also been a director in municipal sales at Barclays.
The trio joins a growing muni team at Texas Regional Bank, operating as TRB Capital Markets after it acquired Estrada Hinojosa & Co., Inc. in August 2024.
Three other recently departed Barclays employees have also landed elsewhere in the industry: Rob Parks, who was director of municipal sales, has gone to Wells Fargo; and Rommel Medina, who was head of short-term underwriting, has landed at J.P. Morgan, according to sources. Nick Vakirtzidelis has moved to PNC, sources said.
Some of the departees have spent decades in the industry, such as Greco, who spent 40-plus years in the industry, according to his LinkedIn post announcing his retirement.
"I'm looking forward to this next chapter of my life," he wrote. "I am incredibly grateful for the past 42 years I've spent with Lehman/Barclays, It has been a privilege to work alongside such talented and dedicated individuals."
Barclays at one point reportedly considered exiting the muni market as part of a strategy to boost profits and cut costs, according to a Financial Times article from November 2023, around the same time as
A spokesperson for the firm declined to comment on the departures or the company's compensation.
The new hires will bulk up the firm's housing and West Coast banking team and sales and trading desks.
Robert Hynote joined as director in muni banking – housing. He most recently was at Stifel, Nicolaus & Company.
Barry Gottfried, also from Stifel, joined Barclays in February as director in muni banking – housing.
Curtis D'Amico comes to Barclays as director on the muni syndicate desk, from Jefferies LLC, where he had been for less than a year. Before that he was at Morgan Stanley for 25 years, according to FINRA records.
Esther Berg joins as director in muni banking - West Coast, from Morgan Stanley.
Tim Moraghan joins Barclays as director, trading, from Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, as did Dave McCann, director of sales, who was at Goldman for 32 years, according to his LinkedIn page.
The firm also hired Tara Wise as vice president in sales; Akash Kothari, as assistant vice president in muni banking – housing; and Michael Mcalamey as assistant vice president in muni banking – healthcare.
Last year, Barclays ranked tenth among top managing underwriters of municipal bonds, credited with underwriting $17.6 billion for a 3.6% market share.
The firm ranks ninth year-to-date, underwriting $7.3 billion with a 4.9% market share.
