About Us
Message from the President
Welcome to the Municipal Forum of New York. This is a special year for the forum – it’s the first time since 2020 we have a full ULF alumnus in every year in college. That means we have 120 or so students who have interned with our partners and are taking their experience with them to college and beyond.
To date, more than 800 students have completed the program, and the Forum has awarded well over $1.5 million in scholarships and book stipends to help with the cost of higher education. This would not be possible without the leadership of the Forum’s Board, Associate Board and our partners throughout the industry and their efforts. We’re looking forward to the continuation and expansion of the program and following through on our promise of developing the next generation of professionals in our industry.
Through this program and other efforts, the Forum actively supports diversity, equity and inclusion in the recruitment of professionals in our industry and we are dedicated to supporting the communities we serve. We are especially proud that a number of our summer interns are now working in the municipal securities industry and that some of our interns are now employed in other areas of financial services.
If you are a participant in the municipal securities industry, a government or not-for-profit official or are simply interested in the financing of our country’s infrastructure, we encourage you to learn more about the Forum and consider membership in our organization. Please feel free to reach out to me or anyone of our Board or Associate Board members, we’d love to get you involved.
- Tim Martin, President
The Municipal Forum of New York, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization serving various participants in the municipal securities industry through a variety of events and programs. Since our formation in 1938, the Forum has always sought to respect the longstanding traditions of the municipal bond industry, and we are committed to promoting best practices among all market participants. The Forum plays a key role in enhancing the professional development of the next generation of bankers, underwriters, advisors, traders, credit analysts, bond insurers, public and not-for-profit sector finance officers and bond attorneys.
Through our affiliate, the Youth Education Fund, and with our partner, Futures and Options, we support and manage the Urban Leadership Fellows (ULF) summer internship program for outstanding graduates of New York City’s many high schools. The program is available to recent graduates who are interested in careers in finance. In addition to their paid summer position, participants in the program are eligible for academic and service-based scholarships throughout their four-year college career.
Brief History of the Municipal Forum
The Municipal Forum of New York has its roots in the lively lunches of the 1930s, where municipal bond professionals gathered to share insights and tackle industry challenges. Key figures like Dana B. Scudder (National City Bank), Floyd Stansbury, James J. Carpenter (Bankers Trust Company), Glen Thompson (Chemical Bank), Wilbur Merritt (First Boston Corporation), and William J. Wallace and John F. Thompson (Savings Trust Company) were among the early participants. There was much to discuss, particularly about municipal credits as there had been many defaults during the depression, and these were in the process of being cured.
Inspired by Dale Carnegie’s principles, the dynamic Jim Carpenter officially founded the Forum and became its first President in 1938. What started with a focus on municipal credit analysis soon blossomed to include all facets of the industry – sales, syndicate and trading in the dealer and banker dealer firms, institutional portfolio managers, municipal bond attorneys, trade publication editors, brokers, rating agencies, and issuers such as New York State and City and other important issuing authorities. Throughout the years, representatives of each of these categories have served as Presidents of the Forum or served on its Board of Governors.
Membership of the Forum has fluctuated over the years. In the mid-fifties, there was a move to take "New York" out of the name in an effort to obtain more non-resident members. In 1983-84, due to a strong program and push by the Forum's Membership Committee, along with the efforts of Richard Gage, membership increased some 200 to about 450.