In 1H23, underwriters see shake up in rankings

July 10, 2023 1:18 PM

Municipal underwriters handled $171.714 billion in 3,501 issues in the first half of 2023. The total par amount and issues continued to decline, down from $201.119 billion in 4,688 deals in 2022.

BofA Securities remained at the top of the list, with $22.948 billion, accounting for 13.4% of the market, but the rest of the top 10 saw some shuffling. Barclays was the only new entrant into the top 10 after narrowly missing out last year, while Piper Sandler & Co. was ousted.

Bloomberg News

BofA Securities retains its crown

BofA Securities' $22.948 billion in 161 issues in 1H23 earned it the top spot once again versus the $24.901 the firm accounted for last year in 177 issues. BofA Securities' market share increased to 13.4% from 12.4% in 1H22.

Signage is displayed outside of a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch.

Cole Burston/Bloomberg

RBC Capital Markets claims second place

RBC Capital Markets jumped to second place from fourth place in last year's first half. The firm accounted for $16.278 billion in 206 issues, for 9.5% of the market share; in 1H22, it accounted for $14.223 billion in 235 issues, for 7.1% of the market share.

Bloomberg News

Jefferies leaps to third

Jefferies joined the top 10 in 10th place in 1H22; now, it continues its ascent. Jefferies accounted for $14.467 billion in 87 issues in the year's first half, up from $8.091 in 53 issues in the first half of 2022. The firm has more than doubled its market share year-over-year, from 4% in 1H22 to 8.4% in this year's first half.

Morgan Stanley sinks to fourth

Morgan Stanley's totals only slightly dipped from last year's — $13.918 billion this year, compared to 1H22's $14.627 billion — but it was enough for the firm to fall from third to fourth place. Morgan Stanley handled 119 issues in the first half of the year, down year-over-year from 132 issues, but its market share increased to 8.1% from last year's 7.3%.

Rest of the top 10

Stifel Nicolaus & Co. rose to sixth from seventh year-over-year, despite its par amount falling slightly to $9.294 billion from from $9.523 billion, with a 5.4% share of the market. Goldman Sachs moved to seventh from eighth with $9.116 billion and a 5.4% market share.

Wells Fargo fell to eighth from sixth where it accounted for $8.652 billion and a 5% market share. Citi dropped to ninth from fifth, accounting for $8.333 billion and 4.9% of the market. Barclays moved into the top 10, after being 11th in last year's first half; the firm accounted for $6.177 and a 3.6% market share.