Raymond James hires another Citi veteran

Raymond James hired George “Jay” Wheatley as a managing director and municipal underwriter, the bank announced Tuesday.

Wheatley in March.

In March, the firm hired 10 former Citi employees, including an entire team in California. Those hires allowed the firm to open a public finance office in Seattle and enhance several specialty areas. The firm also hired Dan Kim from Citi to serve as a director in its New York office.

“The infrastructure needs of this country are not going anywhere,” Wheatley said. “Face it, when you look at cities like Boston, New York, Chicago, they’re very old cities that are going to have to have their infrastructure upgraded and improved. There’s going to be an enormous need for public finance, for municipal bonds. And I think I’ve joined a platform that is ready to embrace that and to grow. … I’m really looking to maintain that excellence and help grow the platform and bring Raymond James to the top tier of our space.”

Raymond James has ascended the rankings of underwriters in recent years, climbing from 12th in 2022 to 10th in 2023, underwriting $5.7 billion of deals.

Wheatley will join a team of 10 underwriters who cover seven municipal desks across the United States.

Casy O’Brien, Raymond James’ municipal fixed income department manager, said in the release that Wheatley will introduce the firm to new issuers and strengthen existing issuer relationships.

“Raymond James is always looking to add top talent and after many conversations with Jay, we knew we needed to have him on our team,” O’Brien said.