The Nebraska Investment Finance Authority is the state's most frequent bond issuer, selling tax-exempt debt mostly for single-family mortgages and multifamily housing projects.
Executive director Tim Kenny and chief operating officer Steven J. Clements are the authority's principal players when it comes to bond sales, and they assemble financial teams, according to investment bankers.
Don Nelson, a vice president of corporate and public finance with Smith Hayes Financial Services Corp., says Kenny immerses himself in the details of all sales.
"On a scale from one to 10, with one being asleep and 10 sitting at the desk working furiously, I would rate Tim a 9#1/2," Nelson says. "He is very aware of all aspects of a deal, as is Steve."
Nelson's firm has served primarily as a co-manager on the authority's deals, though it has been senior manager on smaller, multifamily housing issues.
Because co-managers are primarily responsible for distributing bonds to the retail sector, it is virtually impossible for a firm to do business with the authority if it does not have a bond desk in Nebraska, according to Nelson.
Lehman Brothers has served as the authority's sole senior manager during the last five years, with local firms such as SMITH HAYES and Kirkpatrick Pettis serving as co-managers. Merrill Lynch & Co., Salomon Smith Barney Inc., and U.S. Bancorp Investments Inc. also serve as co- managers.
The authority selects firms, which serve for varying time spans, by periodically soliciting proposals from firms, according to Clements. Management reviews and ranks the proposals and submits recommendations to the authority's nine-member board, he said.
In addition, Clements says that underwriters from time to time bring unsolicited ideas to the authority, which are analyzed for feasibility. The authority does not use an independent financial adviser.
