Blaylock Van, LLC

In June, as part of Seaport Global Holdings LLC's 2024 Summer Intensive Workshop, our leaders Eric Standifer and Nyagaka Ongeri were thrilled to engage in an interactive session with 40 undergraduate students, both physically and virtually. The students eagerly posed questions about Eric and Nyagaka's professional journeys, entrepreneurship, and the significance of cultivating professional relationships. Eric Standifer, our CEO, shared insightful perspectives, highlighting, "When building a firm, it's about assembling a team of individuals who share the same vision. When I founded this company, I envisioned myself as the captain steering a vessel." His analogy resonated deeply with the audience, underscoring the crucial role of leadership and teamwork in navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship. The session offered valuable insights into Eric and Nyagaka's experiences, inspiring students to chart their own paths in business and beyond, showcasing Seaport Global's commitment to nurturing future leaders. We are grateful to Joni Nash Wade and the Seaport Global's team for this opportunity as part of our valuable partnership.  #CorporateFinance #InvestmentBanking #FinancialAdvisory #Leadership

Blaylock Van had the pleasure to provide underwriting services for 7 issuers totaling $5.116 billion in the month of June. The issuers included New York State Housing Finance Agency, New York Transportation Development Corporation, County of Los Angeles (CA), Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, Mobile County (AL), City of San Antonio, Texas Electric and Gas Systems (CPS Energy), and Essex County Improvement Authority (NJ). Blaylock Van’s Lead Underwriter, Ron Banaszek, commented that “June was a solid month for municipals, after wrapping up a tough May, the tone of the market started to change during the first week of the month. The first week was one of the heaviest new issue calendar weeks of the year, however as the buyside started looking at a large amount of June reinvestment dollars, very attractive absolute yields, relatively attractive ratios, and wider credit spreads, that supply was met with very enthusiastic demand. The new issue market got a bit of a breather in terms of volume as the middle two weeks of the month were fairly light due to the Fed meeting week and the Juneteenth holiday week. Deals that were priced seemed to be met with solid demand even as rates started to go lower. The last week of the month ended with a very heavy calendar once again, but deals still seemed to find solid buyside demand. Overall, the month ended with lower rates across the curve, slightly tighter ratios as munis outperformed the treasury market. July will start out slow with the July 4th holiday keeping issuers on the sidelines.” On the secondary side of the business, the Firm’s Municipal Sales and Trading team completed 601 trades totaling $264.8M par amount in the month of June. Jason Carpenter, Municipal Sales and Trading Senior Vice President, added that “June is historically a good month for municipal performance, and 2024 was no exception. Being the month that sees the heaviest principal and interest returned to investors, demand generally outstrips supply, setting the stage for outperformance vs. U.S. Treasuries and other high grade fixed income asset classes. Total returns for the month were 1.53% (according to Bloomberg), making it the best June in the past eight years and the second best since 2000. We expect the positive performance trend will continue into July as it will be another month with a sizable supply/demand imbalance (approximately $51B of principal and interest returned to investors vs. a new issue supply that has averaged $35.5B for July over the last ten years). #MunicipalFinance #BondUnderwriting #BondMarketTrends

Our bankers, David B. Girton and Tarrell Gamble, recently participated in a networking event hosted by IDAC, the Investment Diversity Advisory Council. Blaylock Van is proud to endorse this organization, which unites professionals from across the asset management industry with a shared mission: advancing diversity within their organizations. We are committed to supporting initiatives that foster inclusivity and equality in our field! #DEI #FinancialInclusion

Despite a heavier-than-expected new issue calendar for investment-grade corporate credit in May, the market remains constructive and well-supported. Blaylock Van proudly served as a Co-Manager on 11 deals totaling $14.7 billion in notional value. We were honored to serve clients such as Apollo Global Management, Blackstone Private Credit Fund, Blackstone Secured Lending, Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Credit, Kellanova, MassMutual Global Funding, Mastercard, Morgan Stanley Bank, Southern California Edison, and Toyota Motor Credit. Our active role in 8 of these transactions allowed us to be a vital part of the book-building process.   Investor demand remained robust, even with lower expectations for interest rate cuts through 2024. For the 8 deals, we secured several hundred million dollars in orders from our tier 2 and 3 accounts. Our clients entrusted us with an average of ~20% allocation, with some deal allocations reaching as high as 67%.   In our trading activities, the volatility in rates provided opportunities to add duration. As reflected in our client flows, there was an increased demand for low A and BBB US industrial paper in the short-end and TMT, Utilities, Energy and Industrials paper in the longer-end. The stability in investment-grade credit limited opportunities to increase exposure on spread weakness, maintaining a constructive backdrop for corporate credit and other risk assets.   We value the trust and relationship we have engendered with our clients, allowing us to make an impactful contribution with our capital markets activity.

Blaylock Van had the privilege to provide underwriting services on 13 negotiated transactions totaling $5.794 billion in the month of May for various issuers including the South Bend Redevelopment Authority, Fort Bend Independent School District, City of Miami, Florida, City Of St. Louis, Missouri, New York City Transitional Finance Authority, Board Of Regents Of The University Of Texas System, Miami-Dade County, Florida, Dormitory Authority Of The State Of New York, New Jersey Turnpike Authority, Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority, Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority (MTA Bridges And Tunnels), Hamilton County, Ohio, and Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.   Blaylock Van’s Lead Underwriter, Ron Banaszek, commented that “May ended up being a difficult month as supply grew throughout the month. As the month went on and supply continued to come, the muni market needed to adjust after a period of relative stability. Absolute rates went higher, and ratios went wider as buy side clients moved to the sidelines looking for potentially better entry point in either the next deal or the following weeks’ supply. Over the past couple of weeks, we saw deals get pulled and go day-to-day, as well as deals either pricing or repricing to credit spreads wider than historical averages in order to be placed. As the month came to a close, the market started to stabilize as Treasuries had a couple of days of positive footing and as buy side firms looked ahead to the cash they would get given the June reinvestment dollars coming back into the market. While June is starting off its first week with one of the largest new issue calendars of the year, the tone at least for the moment has seemed to change and it will be interesting to see how this week’s calendar clears the market.”   On the secondary side of the business, the Firm’s Municipal Sales and Trading team completed 358 trades totaling $135.748M par amount in the month of May. Blaylock Van’s Head of Municipal Sales and Trading, Kudzai Jones, added that “May was challenging, as the supply overhang weighed down pricing in the secondary market. Customer engagement and overall ‘going away’ flows were inconsistent as buyers were able to pick through the new issue market at ever attractive yields and spreads. For dealers, it just did not pay to own Munis as the bonds underperformed the broader rate market and ratios touched near 70% in ten years by month’s end; a level the market hasn’t seen in quite a while. Overall positive flows into SMAs, Wealth Managers and ETFs remained one of the few constructive aspects of the secondary market in May.” #MunicipalFinance

So far this year, Blaylock Van has participated as a Joint Bookrunner, Joint Lead, or Co-Manager in Corporate Debt Capital Markets transactions totaling ~$100 billion. Last week, which was the third busiest week of the year, we were an active Co-Manager for The Coca-Cola Company, Kellanova, Mastercard, and Southern California Edison (SCE) issuances.   We deeply appreciate the trust our clients have placed in our firm.

Blaylock Van served as Senior Manager for the $24,825,000 Atlanta Urban Redevelopment Agency (“AURA”) Revenue Bonds (Municipal Improvements Project) Series 2024, issued in April 2024. These bonds were issued to finance various new money capital improvement projects within the City of Atlanta and are secured by an inter-governmental contract pledge between the City and the Agency. Read the case study here: https://lnkd.in/gPx6e9jU

As a proud member of the Impact Disclosure Taskforce, we are now welcoming feedback from industry participants and practitioners on our recently released guidance. This voluntary guidance, intended to help corporate entities and sovereigns measure and disclose their efforts to reduce major gaps to achieving the SDGs, seeks to help unlock sustainable capital towards international development through mainstream financing channels. The feedback period is now open until September 1, 2024. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/d4QTbsS7 Feedback link: https://lnkd.in/g4xbEJT2 DP World Sustainable Development Impact Disclosure Pilot: https://lnkd.in/g_HHRvKX

Join us at The Bond Buyer SOUTHEAST PUBLIC FINANCE conference where our SVP – Lead Municipal Underwriter, Ron Banaszek and our Executive Director - Head of Public Finance, Leonard Jones will be speaking.   Date: May 6-7, 2024 Please use this link to register: https://lnkd.in/gQQNjU8j #SoutheastPublicFinance #MunicipalFinance

Blaylock Van has achieved an extraordinary milestone by crossing over 1 billion par amount of secondary market municipal securities traded in 2024! This remarkable accomplishment not only highlights our dedication to excellence and leadership but also underscores the significant contributions of minority-owned firms in the financial industry.   As the oldest continuously operating African American-owned investment bank, this achievement holds special significance. It demonstrates how minority firms, despite their size, play a vital role in driving economic growth and innovation.   A massive round of applause and heartfelt gratitude to Kudzai Jones, Jason Carpenter, PJ Richardson, WILLIAM R HANNAN, JR, and Jake (John) Jacobson for their tireless efforts in making this milestone a reality! Your unwavering commitment and unparalleled skills have been instrumental in reaching this incredible feat.   Cheers to the entire team for this remarkable accomplishment! Let's continue to strive for excellence on our journey towards even greater successes.