Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co., LLC expands office space at 100 Wall St.

New York State comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, center, cuts the ribbon on SCSCO’s new office space. He is joined by the firm’s equity partners, shown (from left) Sean Duffy, former New York City comptroller William Thompson, CEO and majority owner Suzanne Shank and former HUD secretary Henry Cisneros.

Manhattan, NY Minority- and woman-owned investment bank Siebert Cisneros Shank, & Co., LLC (SCSCO) reached its highest level of transactions in its history last year as it continues to add bankers in new areas, resulting in the need to double its office space.

The $1.1 million, roughly 7,000 s/f expansion at 100 Wall St. has now given the firm, which was co-founded by the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, virtually the entire 18^th floor, a reflection of its growth. The contractors who carried out the renovations were 98% minority owned.

The design of the new offices was done by New York’s Switzer Group, the nation’s largest African-American interior architectural design firm, founded by Lou Switzer. Construction was completed by Constructomics, also African-American owned and New York-based, founded by Trevor Prince.

New York State comptroller Thomas DiNapoli joined majority owner and CEO Suzanne Shank, and partners including former HUD secretary Henry Cisneros and former New York City comptroller William Thompson to cut the ribbon on the new space.

The firm recently added a quantitative group, integrated the capital markets division and bulked up its transportation group with a total of eight new hires in the last year, bringing its overall total to 81. It reached $195 billion in transactions, the highest volume in its history, with $71 billion of negotiated municipal financings and $124 billion of corporate transactions.

“We applaud New York City and State issuers in their commitment to include diverse firms among their key financing participants.  Our firm actively sought out highly qualified minority-owned firms for our own office expansion because we believe in a commitment to diversity,” said Shank. “Our growth reflects our focus on delivering the highest quality services to our clients and we expect to reach new heights in the year ahead.”

“Wall Street is the epicenter of the financial industry,” said Thompson. “This major expansion shows that Siebert Cisneros Shank is committed to growth, continues to attract top talent and has aggressive growth plans for the future.”

“We have already made our mark as one of the most successful and formidable corporate and municipal finance firms in the country and this impressive addition to our Wall Street headquarters is exhibit No. 1,” said Cisneros. “Our banking team is second to none, and looking forward, the sky is the limit when it comes to what we will achieve.”

The expansion includes an enlarged fixed income trading floor, a new equity trading floor, private offices, work stations, new conference room facilities and many other improvements and amenities.

“The expansion of Siebert Cisneros Shank is another milestone in the firm’s 20-year history that is already rich with achievements,” said comptroller DiNapoli. “It is fitting that Wall Street’s leading minority-owned firm turned to talented minority-owned design and construction companies to build this wonderful new space.  As a firm with deep ties in the communities it serves, Siebert Cisneros Shank’s continued success provides a powerful example for everyone in the financial world to follow.”

“The Switzer Group was privileged to be retained by Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co to rebrand their offices at 100 Wall Street,” said Switzer. “The firm’s interest in diversity for their project resulted in a talented team made up of 98% minority businesses. We are proud to have led this design and we look forward to more opportunities in the future.”

“We were thrilled to take part in this wonderful project and to help SCSCO double its space at this impressive location,” said Prince.  “Working with our partners, we are proud not only to have delivered a high-quality new state-of-the-art space but to demonstrate the value that is added when firms focus on diversity.”

SCSCO has transacted more than $1.4 trillion of municipal bonds and $1.1 trillion of corporate bond and equity transactions since its founding in 1996. It earned the distinction in 2010 of becoming the first minority-owned firm to rank among the top 10 senior managers of municipal bonds, as ranked by Thomson Reuters. The firm has been ranked as the No. 1 minority- and woman-owned municipal finance firm for 18 consecutive years.

It has dual headquarters in New York and Oakland, CA, as well as 17 offices nationwide including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Antonio, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, DC.