public finance

Hi all, I'll be going to a BB full time for Public Finance in 2021 and was wondering if the exit ops were limited to only govt, non profit, etc type of roles. I know there isn't much overlap, but would roles like corporate strategy still be a possibility? Wondering if anyone can shed light on this. Thanks

09 Oct 2020

I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread on 2020 public finance bonuses. If you could specify BB or MM I think that's a pretty important factor for PF. Title/Base/Bonus would be awesome to hear for anyone who has gotten their number so far.

12 Jan 2021

I'm currently a public finance analyst at a MM with a strong presence in munis (Stifel, Baird, Piper). I've been doing this for a few years now, and starting to think more long term. It seems a lot of the job at the senior level is "knowing people" and pitching. At the junior level, it doesn't get very stimulating (for me at least - also important to note I'm primarily in GOs). Especially with the curve where it is right now, it seems like my days are just endless refundings in DBC. And then there's always pitchbooks and RFPs. I don't know if I see myself as a MD bringing deals in. Whenever I

15 Sep 2019

Hello, I remember coming across a "guide to success" article written by a seasoned public finance banker in the US. A shame I didn't bookmark it. I'd like to read it again. I remember the banker is renowned and has also been involved in creating new financing instruments (the exact details/name of which I've forgotten). There was even a Wikipedia page for him. I remember that he worked at a certain BB since the 1970s/80s and ended up forming his own firm. The article was on the website of the US-based boutique that he's currently running, and it was about how investment banking analysts can

01 Nov 2020

What are the hirevue questions for Morgan Stanley Summer Public Finance Intern? Any help would be really appreciated!!!

23 Oct 2020

I have been searching for software that can help me manage my accounting and bookkeeping tasks, have researched on google as well. Just want more suggestions to be more clear about it.

22 Oct 2020

I just got an PF internship during the school year in a MM bank (Baird, Raymond James, Piper) and public finance seems really cool to me. I think I would be fine in the field long term, although the thought of slim exits is intimidating. Should I not be concerned about the hopefully just fluctuating state of the municipal market? Also, does anyone know hours/pay for analyst and MD for a MM bank like the above? Demand for Public Finance Investment Bankers Our users shared that public finance bankers will always be needed if municipalities need debt to fund infrastructure investments. Since the

18 Apr 2018

Has anybody been invited to this or know what to expect from JP Morgan's Public Finance interviews?

13 Jun 2018

Which would you recommend at a BB as an associate? Munis seem to be having slimming margins but I'm not sure if that is the case with corporate investment grade. What are the differences in pay/hours at the associate level? Better outlook longer term? And which would be more interesting/intellectually stimulating? Anything is appreciated, thanks!!

08 Dec 2019

Hi All, I received a summer analyst offer from Wells Fargo in their Public Finance Group, which is in their IBD. However, I'm worried that later on down the road, exit opportunities into HF/PE will be limited, in addition to the fact that Public Finance is specialized/niche as compared to some of the other IBD groups. Thus, if I were to receive an offer from a lesser known, but still large bank (specifically KeyBank or SunTrust Robinson Humphrey) in their general IBD SA program, would that be a more attractive option than WF, even if the name is less well known? Thank you all, really

10 Nov 2017

As a former "investment banking" summer analyst at Wells Fargo Securities a couple years ago, I wanted to give all of y'all a heads up before you sign an offer. wells fargo investment banking overview The way that Wells did group placement was pretty ass back in my day (and I'm pretty sure they haven't changed it). Well Fargo Investments Placement Process In terms of group placement after signing the offer, Wells combines their normal IBD groups (coverage, M&A, Sponsors, etc.), their capital markets groups (LevFin, DCM, ECM, Syndications), public finance, and their asset backed finance

05 Aug 2017

Is it possible to move from a public finance role (healthcare) at a bulge bracket into traditional IB or straight into PE? I've heard healthcare in PF is a bit similar to healthcare investment banking, as you deal with hospitals underwriting and mergers.

25 Jan 2018

Does anyone have any comp points for public finance salaries? From looking on here and Glassdoor, it seems pay varies considerably from MM to BB (generally not much/accurate information) . While BB pays standard $85k, it seems MM (Baird, stifel, rj, piper) pay $55k-60k. Associate pay gap seems even greater between MM and BB. Not sure how bonuses vary? If anyone has insight on pay at analyst/associate levels or any other levels at MM or BB in public finance that would be great. Thanks!

15 Jan 2019

So the title is a bit clickbait - I completely understand each career has its own merits and each individual enjoys different things. I've been in public finance for about 4 years now. Looking to potentially exit. The lowering spreads, lack of strong analytical work and pitching/RFPs amongst other things is driving me out. I'm looking for something with more deal focus (opposed to pitching) and analytical. DCM seems like it would be the easiest transition with the least hours. But less modeling and more pitching. Project finance on the sponsor side is my top interest at this point. It seems

07 Feb 2020

First time writing at WSO. I've been spectator for some time - finding this website has been the best thing ever happened to me. I'm saying this because now I have few decisions to make! FYI. I have always been interested in infrastructure and project finance. Option 1) Public Finance role at BB Option 2) Well respected Infra PE firm (~10bn AUM) Option 3) PE role at Pension Fund's in-house Infra Investment group (~20bn AUM) Option 2,3 are most compelling as these would entail direct investing in infra. Public fin role at BB isn't so attractive compared to 2 and 3 in my opinion. What do you

17 Oct 2017

If the Tax Bill is passed as is, volume in the muni market could drop 30-40% (getting rid of private activity bonds and advance refundings). In short, the future of the muni world is looking dimmer than it already did before with spreads becoming almost nothing. I know there are threads on exit ops for public finance - but I am wondering more so the exit ops for public finance that have nothing to do with munis (regulation in this field is almost reason enough to want to leave) Basically what different fields in debt could one with muni experience apply to and actually have a chance. Debt

05 Nov 2017

If anyone has insights on top public finance shops and/or groups that would be great to hear about

27 Apr 2015

Hi all, I'm trying to find out what public finance salaries are at different banks at different levels (analyst, associate, VP, MD). It doesn't seem like there's a lot amount of information currently on here about public finance probably because it's such a niche space.. If anyone could provide any kind of comp estimates at ANY level that would be awesome. Comp on VP+ would be really useful because I don't think I've seen anything on here at that level. Any insight on hours would be great too. Thanks!

30 Oct 2016

What are people's thoughts on the group?

17 Jan 2013

Does anyone have resources on bankruptcy, restructuring and workouts for tax exempt debt. My MD has done some previously and my group is interested in this potentially. I was wondering if anyone could point me towards any resources, particularly for the revenue bond side of things. I'm mainly interested in it as it relates to workouts with a project finance component.

25 Feb 2016

Hey WSO, I attribute a lot of my success to this forum so hoping I can get some more helpful advice. I am currently at a top BB Public Finance IBD shop in NY and wanting to make the transition to the buyside, primarily interested in growth equity (PE) or distressed debt (HF). Obviously, like all other new-comers at banks, I get a ton of buyside emails from headhunters and such, requesting to speak and to learn more about you and see if you are a good fit for their buyside clients, but I feel like I never get too much traction because I'm not their traditional analyst and they want to increase their chances of me landing something. My question is, is there any successful way to get to talk to HF/PE funds to increase my chances?

08 Feb 2015

I'm spending this summer interning at a boutique that specializes in public finance and I was wondering about my options going forward. I've tried searching for similar threads but I wasn't able to find a solid answer. Here's backstory: I'm a rising junior at a target but my gpa is around a 3.3 (thanks to senioritis spilling over into freshman year) and I was lucky enough to get this internship after a bunch of cold calling. After researching about public finance, however, it seems that their exit opps aren't too bright for someone who wants to eventually join the buyside.

22 Jul 2014

I have noticed a lot of the same banks getting deals in public finance , which banks have best exit opps and deal flow in public finance?

19 Sep 2019

Hi. Generally when does internship recruiting start for public finance positions at the BB's and Elite boutiques?

12 Nov 2015

I have an upcoming interview for a public finance position.. What type of technical questions will they ask? I've looked through the WSO and BIWS technical guide, but nothing specifically address technical questions regarding public finance. So anyone with some insight, can shed some light I would be very grateful..

04 May 2012

I saw a couple posts about The PFM Group using the search function, but was wondering if anybody had any additional information about culture, hours, pay, etc.? I'm particularly interested in the NYC office as I recently applied for an opening there. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

22 Jul 2014

Got 1st round at Citi PubFin. Thoughts on the group? What type of interview questions? Easy to lateral to IBD? Citi Group: Public finance CitiGroup has good deal flow in the public finance space. They are a top practice. They consistently rank at the top of municipal league tables with Bank of America and JP Morgan. For an interview you should know a bit about the following topics: Municipal bonds Yields from certified user @PEConsulting" get a good idea of the market and current trends, the differences in credits, you should probably know where the firm sits in the league table. Technically I

27 Jan 2013

Fellow Monkeys,

15 Nov 2014

Deleted

08 Feb 2013

I'm a junior at a non-target with only PWM internship experience, most recently at BofA ML. I just got an offer with a decent boutique as an unpaid Public Finance summer analyst. From what I've read on this forum it seems as though this isn't IB or people don't want to acknowledge it is. I was excited, now I'm skeptical. What do you think? Will I have trouble transitioning out when looking for a FT offer? Or should I just stick with Public Finance until B-School?

21 Feb 2011

I have the opportunity to join a top Public Finance Group within the IBD of a bulge bracket. I was wondering what the exit opportunities are of this position? Also, I have extensive internship experiences in Private Equity and S&T so would Hedge Funds or PE shops be a possibilty after a 2-3 year stint or would I need to get an MBA first? Thanks gents

30 Sep 2009

Anyone know coverage groups in pub fin at baml?

21 Jan 2015

I have spent a lot of time reviewing for investment banking interviews using various guides (wetfeet, vault, etc.) The potential technical questions seem to be straight forward after a little bit of studying. Does anyone have insight into potential technical questions one might receive during a interview for the role of an analyst within a public finance banking team? Any thoughts would be appreciated, thank you....

16 Sep 2009

What are the thoughts best to worst BB PubFin groups?? I know some of them are not straight PubFin like GS PSI but what are the thoughts overall?

10 Jul 2019

Looking to create a community of first-year public finance analysts. Feel free to offer advice or share about your experience throughout your first year!

20 Jun 2019

I'm really wanting to do my last summer internship in Chicago. How does this work though? It seems to me that most of the summer interns will be in the bank's headquarters, most often NYC. Is this the case? Or do regional offices take in interns for the summer? If so, will the experience be as good, networking aside? More specifically, I'm looking for public finance IB, so I know that's a bit more regional than traditional IB. Should I try focusing only on Chicago based firms? Blair doesn't seem to be in the top 25 underwriters for muni bonds so that's a bit concerning. Would Baird most likely have its SAs in IB in Chicago?

13 Aug 2014

If you had the choice between sales and trading at Nomura and public finance at Citi, which would you choose and why (same base salary & bonus)? And are the exit ops for public finance really as bad as everybody says? Thanks!

19 Oct 2011

Hi, How hard would be a lateral move from public finance analyst (muni underwriting) at a BB to a corp fin banking analyst at either BB or even MM ? Anyone with experience or know people who have done it, your input will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks

29 May 2011

What do you guys know about public finance at Barclays? It looks like through a contact I may be able to get a summer internship through a contact there. If I were able to convert this to a full time job what would the pay be? What is the trajectory in this field?

13 Jun 2010

1

05 Jun 2013

So, somewhat out of the blue (I had applied online), I get a call from Citi Public Finance offering a superday spot this Friday in NY. Last week, I had interviewed with banks on campus, including Lincoln International and William Blair. I haven't heard back yet, but felt good about the interviews, and both have superdays in Chicago this Friday. Which one would you choose? The pros to Citi are the brand name, it's in New York, and my summer internship was in public finance, but on the government side. The con is that I'd rather do corporate finance, all of my interview prep has been for IB, and interview expectations may be higher due to my internship (not sure if I could back it up).

12 Oct 2010

They are recruiting for new public finance analysts. Has anyone heard of this firm and the type of work that they do? Where would you rank this firm compare to other boutiques or bulge bracket firms? Anybody know what they offer in terms of base and bonus compensation? Would you take an analyst position at this firm over a commercial real estate lending (at bulge bracket firm)?

03 Dec 2009

Hey guys, I was wondering how much M&A you usually get to do when you work in Municipal Finance. (PubFin). Just curious.

10 Oct 2014

Thanks

14 Jul 2014

Looking to get some kind of insight into the Stephens PubFin group. From what I can gather they have a strong Arkansas presence, but what's their reputation elsewhere? Thanks in advance

26 Mar 2019

Trying to decide: Facts- Analyst Level, BB, my understanding is that mid-corp analyst is MM I-Banking, vs Public Finance which is top 3 in geographic region Questions- Exit Opps? Hours? Pay? B-School Factor? Thanks

17 Sep 2010

Is it a pretty smooth transition from a regional pubfin IB to a pubfin group at a BB? Does anyone have any experience or opinion on this? Thx

31 Jan 2011

anyone know salaries for public finance? Would a 2-3 stint as a IB Public Finance analyst be challenging?

11 Aug 2009

I'm a junior at a semi-target (I think you could call it that). For sure top 15. We have a really solid network. There is a good presence in NY and San Francisco. For fresh out of school hires, energy IB takes the cake for sure. I study political science and I'm minoring in business so I have very limited access to anything that goes on in the business school. I have a pretty solid amount of luck cold emailing people, but the only fruit that ever bears is a conversation and a contact for when opportunities come about down the road. Not a bad thing at all. I have learned so much since I first

18 Feb 2019

28 Mar 2015