Veteran Texas investment banker Michael Bartolotta is returning to HilltopSecurities, the firm known as First Southwest Co. when he departed five years ago for Citigroup.
Bartolotta, once vice chairman of First Southwest under then-chairman Hill Feinberg, joins Hilltop as senior managing director under Feinberg’s successor, chief executive Brad Winges.
He will lead the South Texas region for Hilltop’s public finance division and oversee debt capital markets banking firmwide.
The move comes as the bond industry copes with unprecedented upheaval due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the collapse of the world oil market. Bartolotta will work from Hilltop’s Houston office.
“Now more than ever, public finance clients need advice from experienced professionals and Mike has been a leader in the municipal and project finance sectors for 34 years,” Winges said in a prepared statement. “As we continue to grow our leadership role in Texas and expand our high-yield banking and advisory business, Mike is uniquely qualified to lead this effort."
At Citigroup, Bartolotta worked as managing director, including head of municipal banking solutions and head of the company’s public finance regions. The firm ranked first among senior managers in Texas and the Southwest for three straight years.
“I’m grateful for the opportunities, experiences and relationships that I developed while at Citigroup and I have the deepest respect for their professionals and abilities,” Bartolotta said. My move to HilltopSecurities allows me to be closer to my family and re-join an industry leader with which I have a long history.”
Bartolotta will be working with David Medanich, who was named head of public finance around the time Bartolotta left the firm.
“I have known Mike for many years — both as a business partner and a competitor — and his energy, knowledge, and expertise will be an asset to our firm,” Medanich said.
