A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued on March 8, 2018 to select qualified firms for providing Investment Banking Services for a period of five (5) years.  Twenty-three (23) proposals were received on April 5, 2018.  The proposals were reviewed and evaluated by an Advisory Committee comprised of the following individuals:

       Katrina Laudeman (Chair), Treasurer, Treasury/OBFS

  Michelle McCrimmon, Deputy CFO, CFO/OBFS

  James Varnado, Debt Manager, Treasury/OBFS

  Bill Spinelli, Controller, Accounting/OBFS

  Ashley Connolly, Fiscal Manager, Public Works  

Proposals were received from the following firms:    

Based on the information presented in the proposals and the evaluation criteria set forth in the RFP, the firms were ranked by the Advisory Committee.  The top three (3) ranked firms for the Specialty category, the top six (6) ranked firms for the Primary category, and the top five (5) ranked firms for the M/WBE and VBE category are recommended for award as follows: 

Specialty Firms:

Rank    Firm

1.         Raymond James & Associates, Inc.

2.         Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc.

3.         PNC Capital Markets LLC   

Primary Firms:

Rank    Firm

1.         J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC

2.         Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

3.         Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.

4.         Wells Fargo Bank, NA Municipal Products Group

5.         UBS Financial Services Inc.

6.         Jefferies LLC

 *M/WBE and Veteran Firms:

Rank    Firm

1.         Samuel A. Ramirez & Co., Inc.

2.         Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co., LLC

3.         Blaylock Van, LLC

4.         Loop Capital Markets

5.         Estrada, Hinojosa & Co., Inc. 

*The recommendation for award to the M/WBE firms is predicated upon completion of the City’s certification process by those firms that have not done so at this time.  The award recommendation has been reviewed by the M/WBE Office.

The number of firms that will typically be selected for individual transactions will be based on the anticipated size of the transaction at the time of occurrence.  Negotiations will occur with the awarded firms at the time of bond issuance, which is subject to the review and approval by the Treasury Office.

Approval of the ranking established by the Advisory Committee and authorize the Chief Procurement Officer to award to the top three (3) ranked firms for the Specialty category, top six (6) ranked firms for the Primary category, and the top five (5) ranked firms for the M/WBE and VBE category with authorization for the Chief Procurement Officer to execute the necessary documents with the firms as indicated above, subject to review and approval by the City’s Attorney’s Office.