ESBD_361058_1717076502633_RFQ #24-28 Bond Underwriting Services..pdf

RFQ 24-28 Bond Underwriting Services 1

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) #24-28

BOND UNDERWRITING SERVICES

PROPOSED SOLICITATION SCHEDULE

This schedule may be modified or changed at the sole discretion of SJCCD.

DATE ACTION

May 30, 2024 RFQ issued.

June 10, 2024

Questions and/or Clarifications Deadline

Requests for questions and clarifications regarding RFQ documents shall be submitted through the Questions tab in IonWave by 5:00 p.m. Central Time to be considered.

June 12, 2024 Issuance of final addendum, if necessary.

June 18, 2024

Qualifications Statement Submission Deadline

All Qualifications Statement documents shall be submitted before 2:00 p.m. Central Time in IonWave.

Qualifications Statement will be digitally opened immediately following time due.

July/August 2024 Recommendation of award and approval of underwriting pool will be announced after approval received.

IonWave:

https://sanjac.ionwave.net

PROCUREMENT CONTACT

Farrah Khalil, Buyer

281-998-6326 farrah.khalil@sjcd.edu https://sanjac.ionwave.net/ mailto:farrah.khalil@sjcd.edu

RFQ 24-28 Bond Underwriting Services 2

SCOPE OF WORK

1. General

San Jacinto Community College District (“SJCCD” or “College”) is soliciting sealed qualification statements from qualified firms to provide bond underwriting services.

SJCCD reserves the right to select one or more companies based on the best value, as determined by SJCCD, overall response(s) submitted to the College, with consideration given to qualification statements that best meet the desired scope of work set forth in this request for qualifications.

The underwriting pool will be used for the selection of underwriting syndicates for future bond issuances by the College. Issuances may include refunding bonds, tax notes, revenue bonds and potential future voted general obligation bonds.

The College reserves the right to select an underwriter or underwriters for a specific purpose or for any combination of specific purposes and to defer the selection of any underwriter to a time of the College’s choosing. The College reserves the right to add and remove any member of the underwriting pool at its discretion. The College reserves the right to issue bonds via competitive sale.

All work performed must be in compliance with existing federal, state and local codes, statutes and requirements.

SJCCD is a public community college district organized under Chapter 130 of the Texas Education Code and is tax exempt in the State of Texas.

2. Bond Underwriter Responsibilities

a. Underwriter shall have prior knowledge and experience in the underwriting of GO bonds and revenue bonds.

b. Underwriter shall consult with the College and its Financial Advisor when determining the method of financing and the financing structure.

c. Underwriter shall provide the College with available financing options by conducting analyses to determine the most appropriate and cost-effective financing methods, terms, security provisions and repayment structures.

d. Underwriter shall have knowledge of and experience in the marketing and distribution of different couponing strategies and call options.

e. Underwriter shall assist with the process of structuring the bond issue, financing structure, and any other applicable origination tasks.

f. Underwriter shall create a marketing strategy and plan to promote the bonds to investors and develop an interest rate to be negotiated with the issuer.

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g. Underwriter shall assist in the review of legal and financial documentation.

h. Underwriter shall follow written syndicate policies, pricing procedures, and process of selling debt obligations.

i. Underwriter shall underwrite bonds, if necessary, to enable orderly pricing and comply with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations.

j. Underwriter shall participate, upon request, in informational and due diligence meetings.

k. Underwriter shall provide a bond pricing schedule of events and sizing analyses to the

College.

l. Underwriter shall assist College officials and the Financial Advisor in preparing materials for presentation to national credit rating services regarding the College’s financial condition and debt structures.

3. Joint Responses

Responses must be submitted individually. Joint responses will not be considered.

4. Supplier Diversity Reporting

SJCCD does not give preference to historically underutilized or small business in the awarding firm(s). However, if the awarded firm(s) utilize a subcontractor(s) to fulfill the proposed requirements, the firm(s) will be required to track and report the amount paid to each subcontractor along with the subcontractor’s supplier diversity classification. This information will only be used for the purpose of statistical tracking. The reportable classifications include:

• African American

• Asian Pacific American

• Caucasian

• Hispanic American

• Native American

• Small Business

• Veteran Owned

• Minority Owned

• Woman Owned

• LGBTQ

• Other / Non-disclosed

5. Award Term

The College intends to authorize an underwriting pool for a five (5) year period subject to the termination provisions as further described in the sample award terms and conditions in the Attachments tab section of this solicitation. At the College’s discretion, the term of the pool may be extended.

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EVALUATION CRITERIA

An Evaluation Committee will review all qualification statements according to the criteria stated herein. The committee’s evaluations will be based on all available information, including qualification statements, potential subsequent interviews/presentations, if necessary, reports, discussions, reference checks, and other appropriate review.

Qualification statements will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Factor Points

Section 1: Qualifications and Experience of Firm and Personnel 40

Section 2: Scope Understanding, Engagement Approach, Bond Structuring and Marketing Strategy 35

Section 3: Institutional and Retail Distribution Capabilities 20

Section 4: Exceptions to Terms and Conditions in this RFQ and all applicable IonWave Attributes. 5

Total 100

The College’s Evaluation Committee will evaluate and rank each submittal based on the criteria detailed above. The highest rated proposer(s) evaluated by the Committee may be invited to presentations / interview with the Evaluation Committee. If interviews occur, they will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Presentation / Interview Max Points Presentation 20 Interview 20 Total 40

If interviews are held, the final score for selection of a firm will be obtained by combining the Evaluation Committee’s total points of the qualifications, price, and interviews as follows:

Qualifications and Price 100 points maximum Interviews 40 points maximum Total 140 points maximum

RFQ 24-28 Bond Underwriting Services 5

QUALIFICATION STATEMENT RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

All qualification statements must be submitted through IonWave. The system does not allow a submission unless all requirements have been met, including Attributes and Response Attachments. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following:

Written Response:

Written Response shall be submitted as a Response Attachment in IonWave and shall include responses to Sections 1 – 3. Written Response shall be a single PDF document with a maximum of thirty (30) pages (numbered 1-30). Sections must be in order and clearly labeled as outlined below.

Include a coversheet that includes your firm’s name, representative, and contact information.

Coversheet does not count towards the 20-page limit.

1. Qualifications and Experience of Firm and Personnel

a. Include a description of the firm including firm’s history and size. Provide information regarding how long the firm has provided municipal underwriting services.

b. State the address of your firm’s headquarters and the location(s) of your firm’s public finance underwriting Desk(s).

c. Provide a brief history of your Texas public finance practice and focus on Texas issuers.

d. List your number of offices in Texas and the number of bankers occupying each office.

e. Indicate your firm’s public finance and/or retail offices within the College’s taxing district.

f. Describe the firm’s experience, expertise, and capabilities with respect to planning, structuring, and execution of underwriting services similar to those that the College might consider. The College does not currently have voted GO bond authority but may in the future. Bond issuances may include revenue bonds, refunding bonds, maintenance tax notes and general obligation bonds.

g. Describe previous experience with SJCCD or other public entities and/or colleges.

Include how many public entities and/or college accounts are in your current client base.

Did your company perform satisfactorily to the terms and conditions of the last award given to your company? Were there any discrepancies, issues or complaints reported concerning your organization’s performance?

h. Summarize your firm’s experience with Texas community college negotiated transactions. Provide a deal list with issuer name, par amount, sale date, and issue description as an appendix for May 1, 2021, through May 1, 2024.

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i. Is your firm a participant in any litigation involving a Texas issuer? Is your firm the subject of an investigation or has it been subpoenaed by any State Attorney General regarding matters related to municipal securities or other? If so, please describe the circumstances to the extent possible.

j. Is any individual in your public finance group a participant in any litigation involving a

Texas issuer? Is any individual in your public finance group the subject of an investigation or been subpoenaed by any State Attorney General regarding matters related to the distribution of securities of any type? If so, please describe the circumstances to the extent possible.

k. Describe any finder’s fees, fee splitting, or other contractual arrangements of the firm that could present a real or perceived conflict of interest, as well as any pending investigation of the firm or enforcement or disciplinary actions taken within the past three years by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, or any other regulatory agency.

l. Provide a project staffing plan for the College, and provide brief resumes for each key team member detailing their prior public finance experience and community college financing experience.

2. Scope Understanding, Engagement Approach, Bond Structuring and Marketing Strategy

a. Include your management and technical approach, as well as a brief description of all services offered by your firm. Include details pertaining to your firm’s approach, implementation, and capabilities as are relevant to this request for qualifications.

b. SJCCD has GO bond ratings of Aa2/AA+ and a revenue bond rating of Aa3. Describe your firm’s marketing plan entail if it was selected as Senior Manager to underwrite GO bonds and revenue bonds, and any differences based on security type. Discuss current market conditions and their impact on the structuring of municipal securities. Describe your structuring and pricing strategy for SJCCD’s bond issues. Include a discussion of the type of investors you will target for SJCCD’s bond sales.

c. How would your firm determine or prove that it has achieved the lowest cost of funds for the College?

d. Provide a general timeline outlining your firm’s proposed marketing strategy/plan for a bond issue.

e. In the context of the current market environment, discuss your firm’s approach to couponing and any approach you may have to achieving the lowest cost while preserving future optionality for the College.

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3. Institutional and Retail Distribution Capabilities

a. Describe your firm’s marketing and sales capabilities along with trading resources nationally and within Texas. Also, identify any particular type of account for which your firm specializes.

b. Provide your firm’s total firm capital, equity capital, and excess net capital as of January

1, 2022, January 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024. Provide a list of municipal issuers’ underwritings during the last 3 years where your firm has committed capital to support unsold balances during the same period mentioned above. Additionally describe the internal approval process required (if any) for your firm to commit its capital to underwrite bonds.

c. Provide three (3) examples of transactions where the firm has recognized or utilized member orders in the absence of priority orders to solidify pricing.

4. Exceptions to Terms and Conditions in this RFQ and all applicable IonWave Attributes.

An exception includes any addition, deletion, or other modification. Submit exceptions to terms and conditions as an attachment in the Response Attachment tab in IonWave as follows:

a. If you select Yes to “EXCEPTIONS TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS” under the Attributes tab, you must submit a written summary of each exception to this RFQ, including the scope, specifications, and/or sample award, as applicable. The summary shall include supporting justification that clearly identifies the specific reference, page, section, and sub-section of the change, relevance of the change, the vendor’s rationale for the change, and benefit to the College for accepting the change for the submitted exceptions to be considered in the evaluation.

b. The College’s evaluation of submitted exceptions will address the quantity of exceptions, type of exceptions, and justification(s) for exceptions. Fewer exceptions and/or exceptions with a lower risk to the College, if accepted, will equate to a higher score.

c. Any exceptions not explicitly stated may not be considered during award negotiations, if any. The submittal of exceptions to terms and conditions does not guarantee the College’s acceptance of exceptions. The College reserves the right to accept or reject any exceptions as necessary to negotiate a mutually beneficial award.

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List of Response Attachments:

Include the following documents in the Response Attachments tab in IonWave.

All forms are available to download under the Attachments tab in IonWave. Except when listed as Optional, all Response Attachment documents are required and failure to provide a required document may deem the proposer non-responsive and disqualify the response from consideration for award.

1. Written Response (Sections 1-3)

2. Conflict of Interest form

3. Proof of Insurance Requirements

4. Exceptions to Terms and Conditions (optional)

References:

Provide at least three (3) references of Texas issuers for whom you have provided the goods or services included in this RFQ within the past three years. The name, telephone number, and valid email address of a reference person who may be contacted for further information must be entered in the Attributes tab in IonWave. If the College chooses to contact your references, they will be contacted by email.

1. General