Associate, Investment Banking, US Municipal Finance

Municipal Finance Associate

We are seeking a highly motivated Municipal Finance Associate to provide analytical, research and transactional support to investment bankers in all departmental work activities relating to the structuring and issuance of municipal bonds through negotiated, competitive sale or via private placement. This particular position is within the Municipal Finance Student Loan Group, which provides a complete range of investment banking and advisory services for a client base that includes higher education institutions and state-based lending authorities that issue municipal and asset-backed student loan bonds.

What will you do?

• Gather, organize and analyze information necessary to prepare proposals, client presentations, offering statements and marketing materials.
• Prepare proposals and presentations for prospective clients, describing in detail financing alternatives in originating, structuring and marketing an issue and our ability to perform the underwriting functions in a capable manner.
• Participate in industry conferences and other client marketing activities, including virtual and in-person client visits, and oral presentations.
• Prepare financial projections and perform modeling and related financial analyses for potential and actual capital markets transactions, including data collection, conversion, and analysis.
• Construct issuer capital structure summaries, prepare bond and loan portfolio analyses, and prepare addressable market analyses to help identify potential debt financing and debt refinancing opportunities.
• Assist with structuring capital markets transactions to client, investor, credit rating agency, and internal risk group preferences and requirements, including performing cash flow modeling using proprietary and third-party models (e.g., DBC Student Loan and Intex).
• Assist with performing collateral analyses for proposals, client presentations, and offering materials, including cohort and stratification analyses using database tools (e.g., SQL / MS Access)
• Demonstrate an understanding of the macroeconomic, financial market and political forces affecting the pricing of bonds generally and the pricing of municipal bonds in particular using internally and externally sourced data such as Bloomberg.
• Enhance the group's use and knowledge of available information pertaining to the bond market by collecting, organizing and maintaining various marketing materials and information resources.
• Coordinate the various activities, internal and external, relating to pricing and settlement of public finance transactions, working closely with management and investment bankers to secure closings.
• Prepare transaction term sheets, timetables, and working group distribution lists for live bond transactions.
• Coordinate the activities of working group members, including Bond Counsel, Underwriter's Counsel, Trustee Banks, and Rating Agencies to ensure efficient transaction processing.
• Develop data and analytical processing skills, including becoming proficient in the use of available software applications and data resources.
• Proactively identify and escalate operational risks / deficiencies.
• Review and comply with Firm Policies applicable to business activities.
• Other duties and responsibilities as may be reasonably required.

What do you need to succeed?

• BA/BS degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Mathematics, Engineering, or another quantitative/analytical area of study, with demonstrated record of high achievement.
• Graduate degrees in these disciplines and professional certifications such as CFA/FRM are considered a plus.
• Minimum of 1-3 years of related professional investment banking, credit rating agency, and/or "Big 4" consulting/advisory experience.
• Experience in the areas of structured finance, securitization, asset-backed securities (ABS), and/or residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) is considered a plus.
• FINRA Series 52, 63, and Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) licenses are required, and must be obtained within 60 days of hire. FINRA Series 79 license required as applicable.
• Quantitative and qualitative analytical skills; strong knowledge of finance, particularly with respect to fixed income securities.
• Experience with cash flow modeling with software applications such as DBC Student Loan, INTEX DealMaker, INTEXcalc, and/or Bloomberg are considered a plus.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with programming languages such as Python, R, SQL (MS Access) and/or VB/VBA are considered a plus.
• Strong work ethic, with a demonstrated ability to manage conflicting priorities, deadlines, and requests in a fast-paced environment while maintaining high work standards and attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to establish and maintain relationships at all organizational levels.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to take initiative and function independently balanced with strong teamwork skills.
• High standards of professional and ethical conduct.

What's in it for you?

We thrive on the challenge to be our best, progressive thinking to keep growing, and working together to deliver trusted advice to help our clients thrive and communities prosper. We care about each other, reaching our potential, making a difference to our communities, and achieving success that is mutual.

A comprehensive Total Rewards Program include competitive compensation and flexible benefits, such as 401(k) program with company-matching contributions, health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance, and paid-time off.

Leaders who support your development through coaching and managing opportunities.

Ability to make a difference and lasting impact.

Work in a dynamic, collaborative, progressive, and high-performing team.

Opportunities to do challenging work.

Opportunities to build close relationships with clients.

The expected salary range for this particular position is $115,000 - $180,000, depending on your experience, skills, and registration status, market conditions and business needs.

You have the potential to earn more through RBC's discretionary variable compensation program which gives you an opportunity to increase your total compensation, provided the business meets its performance targets and you meet your individual goals.

RBC's compensation philosophy and principles recognize the importance of a highly qualified global workforce and plays a critical role in attracting, engaging and retaining talent that:

• Drives RBC's high-performance culture
• Enables collective achievement of our strategic goals
• Generates sustainable shareholder returns and above market shareholder value

Job Skills

Adaptability, Critical Thinking, Customer Service, Detail-Oriented, Financial Engineering, Financial Statement Analysis, Investments Analysis, Personal Development, Personal Initiative, Teamwork