Office of the Comptroller - RFQ for Municipal Bond Underwriters

Location:	Missouri
Posted:	Dec 22, 2025
Due:	Jan 23, 2026
Agency:	City of St. Louis
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	71 - Furniture
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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CITY OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER

Request for Qualifications

for

Municipal Bond Underwriters

December 22, 2025

A. INTRODUCTION

The City of St. Louis, Missouri, Office of the Comptroller (the “City”) is soliciting responses to this

Request for Qualifications for Municipal Bond Underwriters (“RFQ”) in order to select firms to serve

as Senior Manager, Co-Manager, and/or Placement Agent , as applicable (“Underwriter”), with

respect to financing transactions/projects: (1) General Obligations Bonds (“GO”), Annual

Appropriation Lease Revenue Bonds and Special Obligation Bonds (“Annual Appropriation Bonds”),

Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes (“Notes”) and any development transactions which are secured

by City general/capital fund revenue (collectively, “General Fund Related Obligations” or “GFO”),

and (2) Airport enterprise fund transactions/projects (“Airport Bonds”) and together with GFO Bonds,

“City Bonds”).

The City is seeking responses from qualified underwriting firms demonstrating significant experience

and expertise in general municipal finance, with similar credits/security structures and knowledge of

the City’s financing and debt-related policies and procedures.

It is the City’s intent to select firms to be in a pool from which Underwriters for specific

transactions/projects will be selected. At the City’s sole discretion, the term of the engagement shall

be for three years with the possibility of up to two one-year extensions.

Firms responding to this RFQ may submit to serve as Senior Manager, Co-Manager, and/or Placement

Agent. Firms submitting for Senior Manager will automatically be considered for Co-Manager unless

otherwise specifically indicated in a firm’s response.

Information regarding City financings and other matters can be found on the City’s Investor Relations

website:https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/comptroller/investor-

relations/Investor-Relations-Welcome.cfm In addition, certain information regarding City financings

can be found at: www.emma.msrb.org. Information regarding the St. Louis Lambert International

Airport, its finances and its financing program can be found at: Home - St. Louis Lambert International

Airport and at www.emma.msrb.org.

B. REQUIRED SERVICES AND TANGIBLE WORK PRODUCTS

The City requires that each firm selected as senior manager and/or placement agent provide, at a

minimum, the services and tangible work products listed below, including the specific tasks and work

activities described, assisted, at the City’s discretion, by firm or firms serving as co-senior manager

and/or co-manager.

• Make recommendations on all aspects of relevant financings including, but not limited to, the

timing of sales of bonds, marketing, call provisions, and other structuring considerations;

• Assist with investor relations, including accessing new buyers and market sectors for City

Bonds;

• Keep the City abreast of market developments and financing techniques which might be

applicable to the City’s financing programs;

• Provide as-needed financial information regarding market conditions and trends, financial

products, credit and credit analysis, third party alternative financings, etc.;

• Prepare analyses and evaluations of potential refundings and new money issues;

• Assist the City’s financial advisor(s) in identifying tasks, assigning responsibilities and

coordinating dates for completing activities related to the plan of finance;

• Review and evaluate financing options, financial feasibility studies (if applicable), legal

documents, etc.;

• Review and assist in the preparation of disclosure and other legal documentation for both

issuance of debt and continuing disclosure;

• Conduct and coordinate disclosure “due diligence” review of the City in consultation with

Underwriter’s Counsel;

• Provide information on and participate in the selection of credit enhancement providers, if

deemed appropriate for a particular financing;

• Develop a comprehensive marketing plan, including identification of potential investors and

market conditions for alternative products;

• Market the bonds in a manner designed to achieve the lowest possible borrowing cost;

• Coordinate the investment banking process leading to the negotiated sale of the bonds,

including preparation of detailed pre-pricing and final pricing books;

• Underwrite bonds, if necessary, to enable an orderly pricing and to meet the City’s goals for

pricing;

• Provide issue price certification and any other certifications, if any, required by the City Bond

Counsel, and;

• Assist in Closing preparations, including draft Closing Memorandum

During the pricing of bonds, Senior Managers are expected to provide the following:

• Investor feedback and reverse inquiries;

• The ability to remotely monitor the placement of orders on a real-time basis, including the

type of order and the firm placing such order;

• On-site facilities for City staff and financial advisor(s) to monitor and oversee the process of

pricing the bonds;

• Status reports summarizing order flow by maturity as well as intra-day developments that

affect the pricing. Provide post-sale analysis of the transaction, including but not limited to:

• A summary of the marketing and pricing of the bonds (including all relevant information

pertaining to rates and yields, arbitrage yield and true interest costs, etc.);

• Preliminary Pricing Information;

• Pricing Wires;

• Orders and Allotments;

• Marketing Materials;

• Sales Memorandum, POS/OS Cover and Maturity Schedule; and

• Final Cash Flows

C. QUALIFICATIONS SUBMITTAL AND EVALUATION

The Statement of Qualifications must be labeled on the outside of the package to clearly indicate that

it is in response to the RFQ FOR MUNICIPAL BOND UNDERWRITERS Each Respondent must

submit one (1) sealed, box or envelope containing one complete, original Statement of Qualifications

along with a flash drive with an electronic version of the submission as one PDF file. Responses must

be received no later than 11:00 a.m. CST, Friday, January 23, 2026, to:

Office of the Comptroller

City of St. Louis

1520 Market Street, Room 3005

St. Louis, Missouri 63103

Attn: Mr. Ryan R. Coleman, Deputy Comptroller, Finance and Development

In addition, please send, no later than 11:00 a.m. CST, Friday, January 23, 2026, an electronic

editable PDF version of your Response to the City’s Financial Advisor, PFM Financial Advisors

LLC to the attention of Rebecca Perry-Glickstein, Director, at perry-glicksteinr@pfm.com and

Cailin Nappi, Senior Managing Consultant at nappic@pfm.com.

RFQ Questions: All questions related to this Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”) should be

directed to Rebecca Perry-Glickstein (perry-glicksteinr@pfm) and Cailin Nappi

(nappic@pfm.com) via email no later than 3:00 p.m. (Central Standard Time) on Monday,

January 5, 2026. All questions received by this date and time will be answered appropriately.

The subject of such emails should read, “Underwriter RFQ Questions – [insert firm name].”

Questions emailed by respondents and any additional information the City provides in response to

such questions will be posted to the City’s procurement website at: List of Active City RFPs,

RFQs, and RFIs but the identity of the question provider will not be released.

Please note:

• Late responses or faxed copies of your responses will not be accepted.

• All material submitted in accordance with this solicitation becomes the property of the

City and will not be returned.

• All costs incurred in the preparation of the Statement will be the sole responsibility of

the Respondent.

• Joint responses will not be accepted.

• If your firm wishes to be considered for the position of Co-Manager ONLY, please

indicate in the cover letter of your response.

• All firms proposing to serve as a Senior Manager will automatically be considered for

Co-Senior Manager and Co-Manager positions.

Please do not contact any City official or staff members with questions regarding this

solicitation.

D. SELECTION PROCESS

The City reserves the right to: (1) reject any and all responses with or without cause; (2) request

additional information as the City deems appropriate; (3) disqualify any firm and reject any responses

for failure to promptly provide such additional information; and (4) waive any irregularities or

informalities in the responses submitted. The City also reserves the right to make such investigations

as they deem necessary as to the qualifications of any and all firms submitting responses. In the event

that all responses are rejected, the City reserves the right to re-solicit qualification statements.

Please be advised that the City intends to select specific underwriting teams for each transaction

undertaken, if any. Selection or approval of any firm to be in a pool creates no contractual

relationship with such firm. The City will have no legal obligation to any firm that is selected

or approved through this RFQ process until and unless legally binding documents are entered

into between the City and such firm.

Due to frequent changes in the credit markets and numerous changes affecting our industry, the

Comptroller explicitly reserves the right to remove a firm or firms from the underwriting team

for any reason – including, but not limited to, an assigned banker leaving a particular firm, if a firm

is acquired by another organization, or negative financial information about a particular firm is

released in the future. Other underwriting firm(s) may or may not be added to the underwriting team

if such an event occurs.

E. REQUESTED INFORMATION

The following questions should be answered in preparing any response to the RFQ. Each question

should be restated with the answer immediately following unless inclusion in an Appendix is more

practical.

Responses to each Section below are subject to the page limits established below, excluding the

cover letter and appendices. Please begin the response to each Section on a new page.

Statements of Qualifications must utilize 8.5 x 11-inch paper, use standard 12-point font, have 1.5

spacing, margins of no less than 1 inch, and contain a Table of Contents.

Cover Letter

The cover letter should not exceed one (1) page and should include the following information:

• Respondent’s business identification information, including name, business address, telephone

number, website address, and federal taxpayer identification number or federal employer

identification number;

• A primary contact for the Respondent, including name, job title, address, phone and fax

numbers, and email address;

• Indicate specifically if your firm wishes to be considered as a Senior Manager, Co-Manager or

both, and;

• Indicate if your firm is a M/W/DBE.

Required Responses

Section I: General Information (Page Limit: 8)

1. Provide a brief description of your firm’s capabilities and services provided, commitment to the

municipal finance industry, and discuss why your firm is well suited to serve as an underwriter for

the City.

2. Provide a brief description of your firm profile including: ownership type including percentage of

minority or female ownership; details of any ownership by foreign corporations with an interest

exceeding 5%; and firm headquarters and number of local offices and local office(s) employee

count.

3. Please complete the table below regarding your firm’s capital position and underwriting capacity

as reported in the end of year FINRA FOCUS Report.

Capital Position as Reported in FINRA FOCUS Report as of December 31

Total (Equity) Capital

2023

2024

2025

Net Capital

Excess Net Capital

Maximum Municipal Bond Underwriting Capacity

4. Provide a brief overview of the firm’s local and national marketing and distribution capabilities

for both retail (professional and individual) and institutional investors. Discuss specific marketing

recommendations for City Bonds. Discuss any financial arrangements your firm has with other

financial companies for the marketing and distribution of bonds.

5. Describe what the City may do to enhance the receptivity of its bonds and better diversify its

investor base. Discuss syndicate policies (designation policies, priority of orders, etc.) that you

believe might enhance the pricing execution and distribution of its bonds.

6. Describe the nature of the current market and investor base for municipal bonds and investor

structuring preferences. Comment on your expectations for the market in 2026.

7. Discuss your firm’s knowledge and understanding of the decision-making process, rules, and

regulations applicable to the issuance of City Bonds. Describe how your scope of work will

address all of the services and tangible work products described previously in this RFQ under

“Required Services and Tangible Work Products”. Summarize the services your firm has

provided to the City and City-related agencies over the past five (5) years, including transaction

services, credit support, and/or memos or materials on relevant and meaningful financing ideas.

8. Provide, for the 5-year period preceding the date of this RFQ, a description of any judicial or

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

Office of the Comptroller - RFQ for Municipal Bond Underwriters

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