Nat Singer, formerly in charge of municipal derivatives at Bear, Stearns & Co., is shifting over to the firm’s asset management division, according to an internal memo obtained by The Bond Buyer.
Steve Salvadore, Ryan Donovan, and Neil Flanagan — all senior managers in the muni derivatives group — will take up Singer’s responsibilities. Salvadore will assume overall management responsibilities for the group, according to the memo.
Singer has worked in the municipals department for 20 years, the memo said. He joined the muni derivatives group in October 1998.
Mike Fedak, head of interest rate derivatives, and Dan Keating, head of public finance, sent the memo to professionals in the company’s municipals division yesterday.
“There is no questions that [Singer] is a seasoned veteran,” Salvadore said. “We have a lot of experience within the group, though. I think we’re going to continue to thrive.”
Last year, Bear ranked eighth among the nation’s busiest underwriters of municipal bonds, Thomson Financial data shows. Running the books on three multi-billion dollar tobacco bond sales helped push Bear up to third in this year’s rankings through the end of Tuesday.
Singer was unavailable to comment yesterday afternoon because he was on vacation.
Competitors praised Singer’s work in muni derivatives, saying that he was a “true gentlemen.”
“He’s a consummate professional,” said Kenneth Gibbs, First Albany Capital Inc.’s head of municipal capital markets. “He’s served issuers well, and I’m sure he’ll be successful on the investor side, too.”
