Banking

Cabrera Capital Markets is welcoming three new public finance hires who are joining the firm from UBS: Shawn Dralle, Shawnell Holman and Chris Bergstrom.

Loop Capital Markets is adding four seasoned public finance professionals from Citi and UBS: John Malpiede, John Giammarino, Alain Garcia and Candace Kelly.

With economic uncertainty ahead and the Federal Reserve potentially shifting to interest-rate cuts, analysts should take a closer look at individual issuers' financial disclosures.

Coolidge joins Oppenheimer from UBS, which closed its public finance business in October.

The current property insurance crisis in several states may dramatically shorten the climate risk horizon for municipal investors. The municipal market's relaxed attitude toward climate risk may be seriously challenged in the years ahead.

"BNP Paribas choosing Miami to open its newest office reinforces our community's status as a top financial market within the global economy," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

The BSBY interest rate benchmark was originally envisioned as a successor to the once-ubiquitous Libor rate. But it failed to gain much traction, and Bloomberg now plans to shut it down next year.

Municipal Market Analytics noted the current size of the outstanding TOB market — at about $50 billion from highs of nearly $500 billion before the Financial Crisis — reflects a reduced credit concentration risk and lower overall leverage.

Teacher shortages and enrollment declines due to growing charter and private schools are two of the problems affecting school financing.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office said it's reviewing whether 10 financial companies, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, violate a state law that punishes firms for restricting their work with the oil-and-gas industry because of climate-change concerns.

The embattled Senator has an extensive understanding of public finance issues and has worked with muni groups on important legislation.

Concerns about large unrealized losses on bond investments have receded since the spring banking crisis, but the paper losses have started growing again in recent months. The worries today are less about banks' survival — and more about how much their margins will get squeezed.

The avoidance of one of the harsher economic scenarios is good news for banks, which are also contending with tighter profit margins and increasing competition for customers. But loan growth and credit quality could be at risk.

The top three trustee banks have an average dollar amount of more than $20 billion in the first half of 2023.

The top three co-managers have an average dollar volume of more than $5 billion as of the end of June 2023.

Texas State Bankshares has agreed to buy Estrada Hinojosa & Co., one of the nation's biggest municipal underwriting and advisory firms.

The Federal Reserve said that banks reported tighter standards and continued weak demand for loans in the second quarter, extending a trend that began before recent stresses in the banking sector emerged.

The bank hasn't managed debt sales in Texas since a measure took effect in 2021 that bars governmental entities from working with companies that "discriminate" against firearms businesses. BofA's "current risk-based framework and policies" can comply with that law, a lawyer for the bank has told the state.

The Federal Reserve took action against a small bank in southern Illinois whose exposures to interest rate changes left it with negative equity last year. The enforcement action comes as regulators review their oversight practices following Silicon Valley Bank's failure.

"Dave has always worked hard, maintained the highest analytic integrity and role modeled independent thought," said Eden Perry, S&P head of U.S public finance. "He will be missed."