John Durcan, vice president at New York-based financial adviser Munistat Services Inc., retires today after 48 years in the municipal bond business, 14 of which have been with the firm.
At Munistat, Durcan, 69, advised all levels of municipal government with long and short-term financings.
Munistat provides financial advice to New York municipalities and school districts.
Some of Durcan's clients included Commack School District and East Northport School District in Suffolk County on Long Island, and Longwood School District in Kingston, N.Y.
Before joining Munistat, Durcan served in a similar capacity at Fiscal Advisors & Marketing Inc., where he spent 20 years. Fiscal Advisors is an independent New York-based financial services firm that provides advice to local governments.
Durcan said the "absolute major change" during his tenure in the municipal market started with the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Among many things, it restricted tax-exempt bond issuance by governmental entities.
He was also around when New York City faced a fiscal crisis in 1976, which led to major changes in municipal governments as well as requests for more disclosure, he said. Since then, disclosure has been one of the market's top priorities.
Durcan said he started in the business in 1956 after graduating from high school in Hicksville, N.Y. At that point, he decided to join the now defunct Governmental Statistical Corp., which was based in New York and also advised local governments. "That is what really got my juices flowing," he said. He later worked in the banking industry for a number of years before moving on to advising local governments.
Tomorrow, Durcan will move to San Antonio with his wife Patricia.
