Raymond James hires another Citi veteran

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

Wheatley joins Raymond James from Citigroup's municipal bond department. He is the firm's 12th hire from Citi this year, following the 11 former Citi public finance employees who moved to Raymond James earlier this year.

Wheatley worked in Citi's municipal bond department for more than 35 years, with leadership roles in sales and trading before transitioning to underwriting; there, he led the national syndicate desk until the firm exited the muni market late last year.

A former Citi "lifer," Wheatley is looking forward to helping expand Raymond James' practice. "Raymond James is a wonderful, wonderful firm to work for. I knew that during my discussions with them over the last four months," he said. "And being here for just for three days, I've been able to see the immediate impact, and that there's a lot of quality people. It's a wonderful platform, and it's a great opportunity, both for me and for Raymond James."

Wheatley has managed more than $700 billion in transactions and led deals in every sector. He is based in New York City.

"Raymond James is committed to growing our municipal finance business because we see tremendous opportunity in the marketplace," Gavin Murrey, Raymond James' executive vice president and head of public finance, said in a press release announcing Wheatley's hire. "Jay is a highly regarded and tenured professional who is deeply ingrained in this business and whose expertise will radiate throughout our entire fixed income practice."

Raymond James has around 180 public finance employees, 51 of whom were hired in the past two years. The recent hiring spree served partly to replace retiring employees, but also reflected the firm's commitment to public finance, Murrey told The Bond Buyer 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.