Stifel Financial

Piper Sandler has hired Joe Kinder and Brent Blevins as managing directors on its public finance team. Both will focus on Missouri school districts and issuers.

RBC ramped up business to land at second place and Jefferies rose to third while Raymond James entered the top 10, knocking Barclays to 11th. Citi, which exited the business, closed at sixth place.

The hire by Missouri-based Stifel comes as some broker-dealers trim ranks amid weak issuance.

A lawsuit accusing underwriter Stifel of negligence on one bond issue is pending and broader claims related to the financings are being considered.

Two other banks set to underwrite the $634 million bond issue dropped out of the transaction after facing pressure from activists and investors.

The broker-dealer found a way to give clients a virtual pat on the back while donating money to hunger relief efforts.

Director, Stifel

Stifel public finance banker James Cervantes didn’t anticipate his retirement party would involve masks and social distancing.

The lawsuit seeks up to $2 billion from JPMorgan, Stifel and Wells Fargo, saying they abetted the crisis in their role selling debt for the Karegnondi water pipeline.

Regulators found Stifel effected 56 pairs of pre-arranged transactions and the firm did not have a supervisory system reasonably designed to catch that activity.

The investigation had appeared likely to be tied to a fraud case involving the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza discusses why she thinks the Fed’s job is far from done, why inflation remains stubbornly below its 2% target, the inverting yield curve, consumer spending and economic growth. Gary Siegel hosts.

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 investigation appears to be linked to the supervision of Deborah Kelley, a broker who was convicted and sanctioned for bribing a state pension fund officer.

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.

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

The deal will end the family owned Baum's 91-year run in the municipal bond business.

St. Louis-based Stifel said it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets of Baum, including its municipal bond business.

As Stephen Heaney retires from Stifel Financial, Betsy Kiehn is stepping up to a new capital markets position at the firm.

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