CHICAGO - Citi has hired Chicago-based public finance banker Samantha Costanzo away from Jefferies to serve as a co-head of the Midwest region.
Costanzo recently resigned from Jefferies, where she was a managing director in Chicago, and will join Citi over the summer after a garden leave, numerous public finance sources said. Citi declined to comment.
For Costanzo, it's a return to her municipal roots. She began her career at Citi in 2001 as an analyst in its New York City offices. She relocated to Chicago in 2004 where she worked for Citi until January 2009 when she was cut as part of a wave of layoffs. She joined Jefferies in March 2009.
Costanzo will be co-head of the firm's Midwest public finance banking region alongside current head Thomas Coomes. Sources said Coomes and others at Citi had been recruiting Costanzo to return to the firm.
The Chicago-based Women in Public Finance in 2010 recognized Costanzo with its "Rising Star" award which honors a professional who has worked less than a decade in the business and demonstrates skill and intelligence likely to have a long-term effect on the field.
At the time of her award, WPF said of Costanzo: "Since joining the firm [Jefferies], she has led its entry into senior underwriting pools for high-profile clients in the Midwest while working with women's mentoring organizations and other charitable organizations."
In returning to Citi, Costanzo joins the third place finisher among senior managers in the Midwest last year, according to Thomson Reuters. The firm senior-managed $5.8 billion of debt behind top-ranked JPMorgan and second place finisher Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Jefferies did not place in the top 10.
