Raymond James Financial

Raymond James has hired veteran municipal banker Jim Tricolli as a managing director.

About 500 of Raymond James' workforce will be cut because of a decline in earnings due to low interest rates and the pandemic-induced economic downturn.

Hector Matos brings years of experience as a Texas school finance expert and Citigroup banker to Raymond James' new San Antonio office, the firm said.

Raymond James' Western region head Robert Larkins was part of a couple caught on video challenging a man for chalking the slogan in front of his own home.

Richard G. Bartow and his son Richard T. Bartow joined the office this week and will focus on K-12 education.

The top muni underwriters accounted for $406.51 billion in 10,582 transactions in 2019 compared to $320.35 billion in 8,549 deals in 2018. There was only one change in the top five year-over-year but spots six through 10 saw three changes. Barclays and Stifel both had big improvements in the rankings, while Raymond James dropped the most.

The Financial Industry Regulatory announced the action Wednesday, saying it stemmed from the firms' supervisory failures.

Municipal underwriters saw increased business, as demand for muni bonds jumped through the roof. Top muni underwriters accounted for $267.51 billion in 7,310 deals, up from $239.33 billion in 6,406 transactions in the first nine months of 2018.

Raymond James hired Paul Soma as a senior vice president. He will set up a public finance office in Traverse City.

Cheryl Schluterman was president and chief financial officer of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority.

The firm hired Damian Maggos in Indianapolis and Matthew Ruess in Crown Point.

The firm opened its fifth California office by hiringbanker José Vera in Pasadena.

Municipal underwriters jockey for position as business increased 21.9% from the first quarter of last year.

Municipal bond underwriters suffered from muted issuance under the new tax laws, as Bank of America Merrill Lynch remained on top of the year-end rankings.

Market veteran Horace Carter will co-head Raymond James’ fixed income capital markets division along with Kevin Giddis.

The new office staffed by veteran banker Greg Vahrenberg will focus on Kansas and Missouri issuers.

Leslie Bloom joins as a senior vice president with a Solano Beach office.

Raymond James plans to enhance its standing in Texas public school finance with the addition of Curtil Culwell, who was superintendent of three different school districts.

Education banker John Baracy has opened Raymond James’ first public finance office in Los Angeles.

Gavin Murrey will become the division leader of public finance/debt investment banking.