Stephen Coma joined HilltopSecurities as a managing director of debt capital markets. Coma will lead the firm’s high yield housing origination group, which is the newest extension of the debt capital markets division.

Coma will oversee four new additions to HilltopSecurities’ high yield housing origination group, including managing director Adriane Evans, director Michelle Le, assistant vice president David Prieto and analyst Wei Fan. Coma, Le, Prieto and Fan will serve clients from HilltopSecurities’ Charlotte, NC, office and Evans will operate from Sarasota, FL. The group will report to Mike Bartolotta, senior managing director and head of debt capital markets for HilltopSecurities.

“We’re excited to welcome Steve, Adriane, Michelle, David and Wei to the firm,” Brad Winges, president and CEO of HilltopSecurities, said. “We’ve been working to expand the value our debt capital markets division brings to public and private sector clients. Under Steve’s leadership, our new high yield housing origination group better positions HilltopSecurities to continue growing as a leading municipal investment bank.”

Coma and the new group will coordinate and structure high yield housing transactions for a range of clients nationwide.

“In this day and age, high yield bond issuance is a very relationship-driven business,” Bartolotta said. “Steve and his team understand the complexities of this sector and will play a pivotal role in helping HilltopSecurities expand in each market across the country.”

Coma joined HilltopSecurities after 15 years with BB&T Capital Markets, which is now Truist Securities, where he spearheaded the creation of the housing and specialty finance group as managing director and group head. He has more than 25 years of experience in structured finance.

Before joining HilltopSecurities, Evans spent nine years with BB&T Capital Markets, where she held senior level leadership roles, including managing director and senior vice president of debt capital markets. Prior to joining BB&T Capital Markets, she held senior vice president roles at Stern Brothers and Ziegler. Evans has more than 30 years of total experience in fixed income.

Le has more than 15 years of experience in developing financing structures. Most recently she served as senior vice president at BB&T Capital Markets, where she implemented the new business line of housing and specialty finance in the high yield tax-exempt space.

Prieto joined HilltopSecurities from his role at BB&T Capital Markets as a housing and specialty finance investment banking assistant vice president. He managed the structuring of high yield bond transactions in this role.

Fan served as an investment banking analyst at BB&T Capital Markets before he joined HilltopSecurities. He previously held intern positions in investment banking at Moelis & Company and China Galaxy Securities.