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Introduction

Grigsby and Associates, Inc is an American boutique investment-banking firm, specializing in municipal underwritings and financial advisory services for municipalities. Incorporated in 1981, Grigsby & Associates is one of the oldest minority-owned, full-service investment banking firms in the country, and the third oldest investment-banking firm in California with its headquarters at 311 California Street in San Francisco, California. Since incorporation, the firm has provided municipalities and corporations high quality financial advisory and investment banking services. Throughout its history, Grigsby and Associates has remained under the same continuous ownership. Although, the firm has done business under other names to reflect the addition of new partners, current president and CEO, Calvin Grigsby has always been the owner and majority shareholder. In 1984, the firm’s name was changed to Grigsby, Brandford & Co., and in 1985, the name changed to Grigsby Brandford Powell. Eventually, Mr. Brandford and Mr. Powell sold their shares back to the firm and the name was once again changed to Grigsby & Associates, Inc. The firm continues to conduct business under its original and only incorporated name, Grigsby & Associates, Inc. Grigsby & Associates’ experience as lead banker includes 2055 municipal issues having aggregate principal amount of $127.2 billion, of which 457 issues were as senior, book-running manager or remarketing agent totaling $7.1 billion. Per securities data, the firm has served as sole bond counsel on 100 issues. Mr. Grigsby’s cumulative banking experience totals $12.5 billion for Airport experience, $14.5 billion for water & sewer experience, $95.4 billion for refunding/restructurings experience, $5.3 billion for stadium & sports complex experience, $12.2 billion for transportation experience, and $262 billion for experience as Sole, Senior, co manager, or Remarketing Agent.

Firm History

Calvin Grigsby founded Grigsby & Associates in 1981. Since the firm’s establishment as a corporation, Grigsby & Associates has worked with municipalities to raise well over $400 billion in tax exempt capital for basic infrastructure, utility, housing, education, transportation, redevelopment and general funding needs. The firm has also worked to arrange $10 billion in public and private corporate offerings. Grigsby & Associates’ private financings include, a $50 million financing for Pepsi-Cola bottling plant upon their reentry in post-apartheid South Africa in 1994 and such films as “The Commitments,” “Sugar Hill” and “Get on the Bus.” Calvin Grigsby and the firm have been the first minority firm to be chosen for several historic underwritings. In 1976, prior to founding the Firm, Mr. Grigsby was the first banker to close a Certificate of Participation financing. He was also the first banker to take a COP transaction to a rating agency and successfully explained the “unusual COP credit” to Standard & Poor’s in 1978, when it was still a relatively new idea. The resulting transaction was executed for the University of Hawaii and resulted in the first publicly offered and sold COP transaction. In 1984, the Firm participated in the first COP for Dade County, worth $9 million and the firm’s first tax-exempt leveraged lease for Dade Co in 1986, valued at $66 million. Mr. Grigsby was also the first banker to secure credit enhancement for a COP transaction. The 1984 Los Angeles Harbor transaction, structured and co-senior managed by the firm, was the first variable rate COP transaction. Mr. Grigsby personally devised the financing structure, and the firm senior managed the first tax-exempt pension obligation bonds and the first tax-exempt capital reimbursement bonds for a major U.S. municipal issuer and the first tax-exempt leveraged lease financing ever successfully completed. In 1990, the Firm became the first (and still the only) firm of color to run the books for a Port of Oakland revenue bond and also in 1990, the Firm became the first minority firm to senior manage a Dade County Florida issue (Seaport Revenue Refunding Bonds - $30 million). In 1993, Grigsby and Associates became the first firm of color to run the books on a City of New York General Obligation Bond financing. The firm was also the first minority firm to Senior Manage numerous issues around the Country. Nationally, per Securities Data, Grigsby & Associates “broke the glass ceiling” by managing the first seventeen transactions ever managed by a black owned firm. Of 661 issues Senior Managed by black owned firms from 1/1/1985 to 9/30/96, Grigsby & Associates Senior Managed 453 (69%) of those issues. In addition to developing and implementing innovative financing strategies, Grigsby & Associates has provided financial advisory services on over 100 transactions, aggregating over $8 billion in bonds since 1986. Grigsby & Associates has served as financial advisor on major capital improvement programs such as: • City of Shreveport, LA • New Orleans Regional Transportation Authority • Council of Prince George County, MD • Port of Oakland • San Francisco International Airport master plan • Metropolitan Pier & Expo Authority • Cook County • City of Chicago • Massachusetts Water Resources Authority • Los Angeles Wastewater Program • Maryland Department of Transportation • Dade County’s first COP leasing program for the Dade County Educational Facilities Authority

In 1995 Grigsby & Associates became the first black-owned municipal investment-banking firm ever ranked in the top ten nationally as a lead manager.

Business Affairs

Grigsby and Associates remains committed to the public finance industry and has continued to provide comprehensive and innovative public finance services. As the firm has grown, it has expanded the scope of products and services it provides its clients. These services are grouped into four principal business activities: (1) Underwriting, (2) Sales and Trading, (3) Financial Advisory, (4) Specialty Financing Services; and (5) Corporate Finance. Grigsby’s core business includes Municipal Securities (both public finance and municipal underwriting, as well as sales and trading) and Lease Purchase Financing. In addition to the Public Finance Department, the firm has a tax-exempt leasing affiliate (Fiscal Funding Co. Inc.) which structures and places equipment lease transactions and provides other ancillary services to municipalities.

Grigsby & Associates senior management underwriting includes transactions for issuers such as:

• Alameda County- SSA Administration Building • Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (Joint Revenue Refunding Bonds) • Oakland-Alameda County • Detroit Board of Education • Texas Public Finance Authority • City of Sacramento • Los Angeles Convention Center • City of New York

Controversy

On the heels of major success, during the mid- nineties, the firm experienced a major blow to its reputation. Calvin Grigsby was served with two indictments in Miami. Mr. Grigsby proved in open court the indictments were obtained by fraudulent and abusive undercover operations and falsified documents sent to the grand jury. Grigsby & Associates received a Rule 29 Motion and never put on a case in either indictment or a single witness to refute the allegations and charges. Following the acquittals, the SEC reviewed every deal Grigsby & Associates had ever done and did not find a single issue in any of the firm’s activities, resulting in the issuance of a letter terminating the investigation and recommending no enforcement action. All the evidence against Mr. Grigsby was fabricated. In the first indictment, Mr. Grigsby was accused of stealing money from himself and in the second indictment, Mr. Grigsby was accused of bribery when he was actually the person being extorted. Grigsby & Associates fought the charges, confronted all of the false accusations, and was completely exonerated by the U.S. Federal Courts and the Securities Exchange Commission. Throughout this process Grigsby and Associates was continually registered and in good standing with the NASD, MSRB and the SEC. The firm proved publicly to have always acted within the highest ethical standards of the municipal securities industry, but because of the indictments, from 1997 to 2002, Grigsby & Associates took a hiatus from public finance to restore the reputation of the firm. This false and baseless prosecution in Florida created an incredible amount of necessary rebuilding for the firm.

Grigsby & Associates Today

The firm has locations in Atlanta, Birmingham, Los Angeles, Miami, St. Louis, Shreveport, and New York, with employees nationwide, all industry professionals. Grigsby & Associates, Inc. Current Finance Team: Management (in order of ownership) Calvin Grigsby, Sr. – CEO & President Jerry Liang – Partner & Executive Vice President Alvin Boutte, Jr. – Partner & Managing Director

Additional Banking staff: (Alphabetical) Hector Reyes Erazo Sherricka Fields James Hill Susan Homeier Pamela Mobley Wayne Pierce

Sales and Trading (Alphabetical) Anthony Falsetta Hakim Kriout Robert Marron Peter Murphy Hantz Serrao Carl Scotti

Calvin Grigsby- President and CEO

Calvin Grigsby began his career in public finance at the University of Arizona where he earned a BA in Economics and Political Science. He is also an alumna of the University of California Berkley Law School, where he graduated as Associate Editor of the Law review, completed one year of the Law/City Planning joint degree program. Mr. Grigsby also completed the Wharton/FINRA Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional Post Graduate program receiving his CRCP certificate on May 13, 2003. Mr. Grigsby is one of few public finance bankers who have received the CRCP designation. Mr. Grigsby is licensed with the FINRA as the general, municipal and financial and operations principal for Grigsby & Associates. Mr. Grigsby is a member of the California and Federal Bar, and has served on the board of directors for Bond Market Association (BMA) as the first African-American board member. Prior to establishing Grigsby & Associates, he held positions as a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco Law School, a securities law attorney at Pilsbury, Madison & Sutro, and as Western Region General Counsel and national manager of municipal finance for Itel Corporation. Mr. Grigsby is also Board Chairman of Fiscal Funding Co., a municipal leasing firm; Fiscal Operations, a port container crane operating company; Grigsby Graves Environmental Directions, a civil engineering and environmental consulting firm; and Civic Improvement Corporation, a nonprofit housing and urban development firm. Mr. Grigsby's community involvement includes service as Chairman of the Board of Civic Improvement Corporation (a non-profit urban development firm), and a lifetime member of the NAACP. He is active in many other public and community entities and associations.

External links

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