Huntington National Bank convened the entire Citi Midwest Public Finance Bank group and named Samantha Costanzo as Public Finance Director, becoming the industry's fourth woman to lead the municipal banking division. She will be based in Chicago.
Jules Vinegar and Rupi Jain will also join as finance director and finance associate, respectively.
“We really liked the idea of being able to bring this Midwest-focused bank to our customers, offering best-in-class banking coverage and services, and best-in-class execution at the underwriting desk. Great banking products, loans capacity, and all the services of a bank,” Costanzo told The Bond Buyer. “Having the ability to coordinate all these resources and tell that story to the client was really appealing to me.”
Costanzo specializes in complex financing, bidding, high yield, and securitization. She has senior managed more than $25 billion in tax-exempt and taxable bond financing in all areas of public finance, including transportation, airports, water and wastewater, state revolving funds, higher education, convention centers, hotels, and pensions. I did.
Mr. Costanzo began his career as an analyst in Citi's New York office 23 years ago. In 2009, she joined Jefferies as it launched its public finance division, leading the Midwest region and senior managing the firm's first state-level transaction and her first over $1 billion transaction. . In 2014, Citi brought her back as its Midwest finance director.
Matt Milcetic, executive managing director of Huntington Capital Markets, said Costanzo and his team will continue to encourage Huntington to extend its capabilities deeper into public finance and refine what it already does. He said that it provides an opportunity to implement the project in a specific manner.
“Through the process of getting to know Sam and the client's validation that she has their best interests at heart and is a good fit with Huntington's people-caring culture, we are both aligned around that strategy. “I think I could,” he said. “And I think her team embodies that same spirit.”
Huntington Commercial Bank President Scott Kleinman said Costanzo and her team are a natural fit for Huntington.
“One of the unique aspects of Huntington's commercial banking business is our focus on culture,” he said. “A key part of that is our purpose to help businesses thrive and strengthen the communities we serve. This purpose guides everything we do. That's why we , it was important to us to find a like-minded financial professional and leader.'' “We are delighted to have found Sam's dedication to her clients shines through in everything she does. We are lucky to have her join our team.”
Mr. Costanzo said he spoke with “a number of companies” before deciding to join Huntington, which he said was “definitely a good fit culturally and for my business.” Local banks are “putting their money where their mouth is in this region,” she said.
Looking to the future, she expects municipal bond amounts to increase in 2024, especially for general infrastructure, transportation and water and wastewater projects. She said significant increases are expected this year and next as pandemic-era stimulus funds begin to dry up.
“I think there's a lot of infrastructure demand out there. As states and cities start to run out of money, they're going to need to come to the bond market to access those funds,” she added. I think this year will be like that.
As a tender expert who has completed many similar deals in the last year, she also hopes tenders will “step in to save the day” as refunds dwindle.
Milcetic also said that although Huntington has roots in the Midwest, it is in “expansion mode” to increase its commercial banking presence nationally and strengthen its long-standing public finance presence in Texas and the Carolinas. It pointed out.
“And we're not done yet,” he said. “Sam and the team are on board, but they won’t be the last to join the public finance and sales and trading platform this year. Investments will continue.”
Costanzo points to his initial conversations with Huntington's leadership. Cutting to the chase, she asked, “Is this a growth story or stagnation?”
“And this is really, really a coming-of-age story,” she said. “I'm really excited about where we're going to take this platform because I think we can provide a huge amount of services to all of our customers. is doing exactly the opposite.”
