Bernard B. Beal, a veteran municipal banker with more than 30 years experience, has joined the Oakland, Calif.-based minority-owned investment bank and financial services company Blaylock Robert Van LLC.
Beal, who in 1988 founded his own New York-based minority-owned investment bank M.R. Beal & Co., will serve as chairman of the firm, overseeing its municipal banking, underwriting, sales, and trading activities, Blaylock said in a press release on businesswire.com on Monday. Pending regulatory approval, the firm will be renamed Blaylock Beal Van, LLC.
M.R. Beal has managed municipal financings totaling in excess of $400 billion, and served as financial advisor on over 60 financings worth in excess of $7 billion, according to the release.
Prior to starting his own company, Beal spent a nine-year career in municipal and corporate finance at Shearson Lehman Hutton.
"Having an opportunity to partner with Bernard and benefit from his more than 30 years experience is a great boon to me, our employees, and our clients," Eric Van Standifer, president of Blaylock Robert Van, said in a release.
Market players said they had heard rumors of Beal's closure and were not surprised it finally happened.
"It's not shocking, there was talk of that for a year," a New York trader said. "There aren't any major market ramifications other than for customers with an open trade."
"For whatever reason Blaylock never built out a muni presence, so this partnership will create some good synergy between the two," a New York municipal manager said.
In addition to Beal, several employees from M.R. Beal will join Blaylock Robert Van and will work in the firm's New York office and soon-to-be-opened Atlanta office, the release said.
Besides its headquarters, the firm has major offices in New York City and Chicago, as well as other offices in Columbus and Dallas, the release indicated.
The muni manager said Beal's shuttering may be part of a recent trend where tightening spreads and waning supply have made survival challenging for smaller firms.
He pointed to the acquisition last week of public finance banking boutique De La Rosa & Co. by Stifel Financial Corp., the parent company of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.
"It's hard for some of these firms with the main draw being minority status," the New York manager said. "They can't get the capital to be in the business."
