The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) today announced the new slate of firms selected to represent the Authority as underwriters for future bond sales. Thirty-three banking firms submitted proposals, from which five were selected as senior managers and 10 were chosen as co-managers for a term of up to five years. They are:

Senior Managers:
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Barclays Capital Inc.
• Goldman, Sachs & Co.
• Loop Capital Markets
• Samuel A. Ramirez & Co.

Co-Managers:

• Fidelity Capital Markets
• Jefferies & Co.
• J.P. Morgan
• Lebenthal & Co.
• Morgan Stanley
• Raymond James/Morgan Keegan
• Seibert Brandford Shank & Co.
• TD Securities
• U.S. Bancorp
• Wells Fargo Securities

“Our $3.8 billion Capital Improvement Program necessitates bond financing,” commented DC Water General Manager George S. Hawkins. “With affordability always in mind, our goal is to achieve the lowest cost of capital to minimize the impact on our ratepayers and customers for these critical infrastructure projects.”

Chief Financial Officer Mark Kim added, “This was a highly competitive process with a record number of respondents. All of the firms in our syndicate have demonstrated their ability to provide DC Water with innovative financing solutions and best-in-class deal execution. We also are pleased with the diversity of our syndicate.”

Two out of DC Water’s five senior managers are MWBE firms (minority- or women-owned business enterprises) and more than one-quarter of the firms in the syndicate qualify as an MWBE.

Added Mr. Hawkins, “The depth of the application field is a further testament to DC Water’s strong financial performance and high credit ratings.”