Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc. has hired two bankers to beef up itsmunicipal business in the Southwest and one senior trader in its institutional tax-exempt trading group, said Frank Fairman, head of public finance at the firm.
| Niederle |
U.S. Bancorp hired Jim Niederle, former managing director in public finance at Banc ofAmerica Securities, Greg Swartz, former executive director for the Arizona WaterInfrastructure Finance Authority, and Steve Cavalier, former vice president in municipaltrading at Seattle Northwest Securities Corp..In an interview Friday, Fairman said the new hires last month reflect the fact thatpublic finance is still "a solid and core part of what we do." For the last two yearsthe public finance business has seen significant volume, and although there is anassumption that next year's will be less, there will still be opportunities, he added.
Niederle has 18 years of experience in public finance. He will be helping the firm toexpand its base of clients in Texas and will be based in Houston, Fairman said.
Fairman said Swartz will be an asset to the firm because he is carrying a significantamount of experience from the public sector side.
"He brings valuable knowledge in local government" and has a solid base of contacts,Fairman said. Swartz's experience also helps him understand the needs of the client basethat he will be serving, he added. Swartz worked at the Arizona water authority inPhoenix for the past eight years and was tapped to help build its clean water anddrinking water revolving fund programs.
The new hires are an opportunity for U.S. Bancorp to increase its market share in Texasand Arizona close to the levels it maintains in Midwestern states.
"It's a logical step to help us build and continue to grow our presence," Fairman said.U.S. Bancorp has a significant presence in numerous states, including Minnesota, Iowa,and Kansas.
Both Niederle and Swartz report to Fairman.
Fairman said Cavalier, who has 15 years of experience in municipal trading, was hired aspart of a plan to build U.S. Bancorp's secondary institutional trading platform. Thispast summer, the firm hired John Calia, former top trader at Lehman Brothers, to head upthe expansion of its fixed-income municipal trading and sales capabilities in New York.Cavalier works out of Minneapolis and reports to Brad Winges, head of municipal trading.
Prior to Seattle Northwest, Cavalier held the same position at Greenwich Partners inGreenwich, Conn., and was also vice president and regional manager of municipal tradingat Kemper Securities in San Francisco.
Niederle obtained a bachelor's degree in political science from Cleveland StateUniversity and a master's degree in public administration from Ohio State University inColumbus.
Swartz has a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from Butler Universityin Indianapolis and a master's degree in public affairs from Indiana University inBloomington. Cavalier obtained a bachelor's degree in finance from Santa ClaraUniversity in Santa Clara, Calif.
A spokeswoman said the three new employees were not available for comment.
U.S. Bancorp ranked third among small-issue managers for the first nine months of 2003,serving as lead manager on 241 issues totaling $964.7 million for a 4.1% market share.In contrast, RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. ranked first, serving on 303 issues totaling $1.43billion for a 6.1% market share.
