FTN Financial Capital Markets, a division of First Tennessee Bank NA, has added four new hires as part of a continued expansion of its national municipal bond platform.
Joe Britt, Vincent Pietanza, Sal Muslim, and Billy Thoma have joined the firm's municipal team in its St. Louis and New York offices.
"This is a very important initiative for FTN Financial," says Michael E. Kisber, president of FTN Financial. "We are excited with the level of enthusiasm and acceptance we have experienced from both municipal investors and issuers so far."
Britt, who joins from Wells Fargo Securities, has more than 15 years of experience providing public finance investment banking services to state, local and not-for-profit customers throughout the Midwest. He will work in the public finance department in St. Louis.
Pietanza has joined FTN Financial's municipal trading desk in New York to lead the national competitive bid underwriting effort for general market municipal debt. He was previously a senior underwriter for UBS.
"Vincent rounds out our underwriting capabilities bringing extensive market knowledge and relationships to the table," said Mike Allen, FTN Financial's municipal products manager. "He joins our two existing competitive underwriters, who concentrate in other municipal sectors, and seven secondary traders focused solely on municipal bond transactions."
Thoma, joining from TD Securities, and Muslim, joining from Citigroup, will both work in the firm's municipal sales team in New York.
FTN Financial expanded its municipal sales group in July when it hired six new traders and sales professionals. The firm continued its expansion earlier this year with the opening of offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, and the addition of a public finance department.
Kisber said the firm will continue to expand its role in the municipal marketplace on a national basis, both organically and through acquisition, if opportunities arise.
FTN Financial is a provider of financial products for the investment and banking community, offering fixed income sales, trading, and strategies services, with average trading volumes in excess of $5 billion per day. The company has more than 50 traders and 165 sales representatives located in 21 offices worldwide.
The firm ranked 43rd in 2012 among senior managers on all deals, and 18th on competitive deals, according to Thomson Reuters.
