Citigroup cuts three positions from municipal team

Citigroup cut three positions from its municipal ranks last week, including that of veteran public finance banker Thomas Coomes, who had co-led the firm’s Midwest region which is based out of Chicago.

The bank also let go Daniel Daley and Marc Livolsi in the New York office, according to multiple sources.

Coomes, a managing director, has held the title of co-head of the Midwest region public finance investment banking with Samantha Costanzo since 2014. He previously had been managing the Midwest effort solely until Costanzo was recruited to return to the firm where she had begun her public finance career. The two then shared the leadership title.

Bank spokesman Mark Costiglio declined to comment on whether the bank had trimmed any positions in the municipal department, but he did say that Costanzo is now the sole head of the Midwest team.

Coomes started at Citi in 2007 after nearly a decade at UBS. His public finance career began at the former Bear Stearns in 1988. Coomes, a general government banker, has longstanding relationships with top issuers in Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin and some in Illinois which contributed to the Midwest region’s solid showing in rankings.

A source close to him said Coomes had talked of retiring from public finance after a 35-year career either this year or next and had begun fostering relationships between some of his clients and other bankers. The source said it was his understanding that Coomes would remain at the firm for a short time to transition deals.

Daley, a director, worked in the structured products group that’s part of the municipal securities division in New York, according to his LinkedIn profile. He joined Citi in 2006.

Livolsi, a managing director, worked on the syndicate desk. Livolsi, the son of the Bart Livolsi who was part of the municipal leadership team at the bank until his retirement in 2019, joined Citi 24 years ago.

Livolsi, Daly, and Coomes could not be reached to comment on their departures or declined by email to comment.

Public finance sources said they did not know of any additional cuts. The bank previously had seen a handful of retirements among senior, longtime bankers in mid-2022.

James Molloy is head of municipal banking while Daniel Tomson and Paul Creedon serve as co-heads of public finance, reporting to Molloy.

Many in the public finance industry are expecting a wave of cuts and retirements this year amid the steep decline in issuance last year and the uncertain prospects for an uptick this year. The Bond Buyer has reported on recent cuts at Morgan Stanley that included a shakeup of top leadership and layoffs at UBS that trimmed its municipal group by roughly 20%.  

Issuance tumbled last year by 21% to $384.1 billion, with new money levels hurt by the availability of surpluses and federal pandemic relief among local and state governments and refundings and taxable borrowing stymied by rising interest rates as the Federal Reserve tries to tamp down inflation.

Citi fell to fourth place last year from its second place finish in 2021 among senior managers, accounting for $27.18 billion of borrowing and a 7.6% market share. That compared to $44.76 billion and a market share 9.8% in 2021, according to data from Refinitiv.

Citi also landed fourth among senior managers in the Midwest, leading 24 deals valued at $4 billion.

Nearly two-thirds of market participants in a Bond Buyer live market survey said they expect 2023 issuance to remain around last year’s levels.

Of the market participants surveyed, 66% percent think 2023 issuance will remain around 2022 levels, while 24% think it will be lower than last year and 10% think it will rebound to around 2020 and 2021 levels.

This split is in line with firms’ mixed issuance forecasts for 2023.