After decades in public finance, Noe Hinojosa, co-founder of Dallas-based Estrada Hinojosa, said he still enjoys being in the business.
"I feel so elated, so humbled, so grateful for the opportunity that this industry gave me back in the day and continues to give even today," he said in an interview ahead of his induction into The Bond Buyer Muni Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Hinojosa has built a strong reputation for creative solutions to complex challenges in the public finance arena, according to a statement nominating him for the honor. It also highlighted his "broad experience as a financial advisor to many diverse types of political subdivisions and municipalities, as well as direct involvement with the firm's municipal bond underwriting and trading activities."
Others also praised Hinojosa.
"The breadth of knowledge and tenacity he brings to the table is invaluable to issuers and the public sector," said Filicia Hernandez, debt administrator in the Dallas Controller's Office.
"He takes command of a situation and provides solutions with an approach that gives you the confidence that you are being well-advised to make the best decisions, the kind of advice that only comes from years of experience from someone who has seen and done it all," she said.
Though born in the U.S., Hinojosa grew up in Mexico where his parents had a retail store at the border. He learned English as a second language and studied computer science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, serving as student body president. That experience helped him get a job working for John Tower, who served as Texas' Republican U.S. Senator from 1961 to January 1985. That's where he met future business partner Robert Estrada.
Hinojosa's first job in public finance was in 1987 with First Southwest Company in Dallas, where he drummed up business with Texas border towns, counties, and school districts, helping them with budgets, audits, offering documents and capital improvement plans.
"Look, you can be poor, but you can be proud," he said. "Focus on the things you can control — keeping good books, keeping good records, being prudent in the way you borrow money, don't go too crazy with the way you spend it — and you will have a good credit rating so that you can have access to borrowing whenever you face dire moments or emergencies."
Hinojosa, along with Estrada, a bond attorney, launched Estrada Hinojosa in 1992 as a five-person firm that eventually became a top-ranked financial advisor in Texas and the Southwest region that now employs about 60 people in offices in major Texas cities, as well as Boston, Chicago, New York, Miami, and Denver.
"When we started, we thought about being an underwriter firm, but then opportunities were very slim," Hinojosa recalled. "It's hard to compete with the bigger banks that have more capital."
The firm got a capital boost when it was acquired last year by Texas Regional Bank, a move
With the acquisition, Estrada Hinojosa lost its minority-owned status, which some issuers consider through set asides or goals when parceling out municipal bond business. Hinojosa, who is president of TRB's Municipal Capital Markets Division, has said the status provided opportunity, particularly when the firm was launched, but later became confining.
Serving as a financial advisor for larger issuers helped for visibility and volume purposes, he said. In 2001, Estrada Hinojosa was tapped as financial advisor for
While the firm is currently working on big-ticket financings for the National Basketball Association's
"Our industry is not about the big issuers, it's not about volume, it's about the little guy that comes to the market maybe once every six to nine years, and you're making a difference for the community for many years to come," said Hinojosa, who has served on boards for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the Securities Industry Protection Corp., and the Bond Dealers of America.
A second generation of Hinojosas has joined the public finance industry. Daughter Mary Hinojosa Kelly, a
