Oklahoma official of Stifel Nicolaus resigns from firm.

A top executive of a St. Louis-based municipal bond finn resigned last week as the company continues to operate under a cloud, with a number of its bond transactions being investigated by three federal agencies.

DeWayne VonFeldt resigned last Thursday as executive vice president of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. "to pursue new opportunities in the securities business" he said in a press release.

"I have enjoyed a long and productive association with Stifel, but now it's time to move on to new challenges,'' said VonFeldt, who was executive vice president and resident manager of the firm's Oklahoma City office.

VonFeldt could not be reached for comment Friday.

No replacement has been named for VonFeldt, a source with knowledge of the company said.

VonFeldt joined Stifel Nicolaus in 1958 and has served as a director of the firm's parent, Stifel Financial Corp. He also has supervised more than 40 branch offices in Oklahoma and Texas. In addition, VonFeldt has played a key role as the senior executive in charge of marketing and underwriting of major bond issues.

"He started the branch office situation. He was really an innovator," said David Ritchie, a principal of Argentarius Group Ltd. in Edmond, Okla., and a former Stifel Nicolaus employee.

"Over 25 years he helped build one of the largest brokerage operations in the state," Ritehie said.

Gary Taylor, president and chief executive of Stifel Nicolaus could not be reached for comment Friday.

In the press release announcing VonFeldt's resignation, Taylor said: "Wayne has been a tremendous force in building Stifd Nicolaus for more than 30 years. We appreciate all he has done for the company. He's very excited about his new plans and we certainly wish him well."

Meanwhile, controversy surrounds some of the firm's past bond transactions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service have been investigating transactions involving the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and several cash management deals for other issuers for which Stifel Nicolaus was an underwriter.

In addition, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been questioning turnpike authority officials about how underwriters are selected, the Daily Oklahoman reported.

A number of sources said they believed that VonFeldt's resignation had been expected, but their rationales varied.

One source said that Stifel Nicolaus executives had expected that VonFeldt's departure was imminent after he sold the bulk of his Stifel Nicolaus stock last year, apparently to purchase an interest in a savings and loan association in Miami, Okla.

Another source said that rumors were circulating among Oklahoma and other regional bond dealers that VonFeldt had angered executives in Stifel's St. Louis headquarters and that the declining volume of Oklahoma bond issuance no longer justified the high salary he was commanding.

Stifel Nicolaus ranked 55th among senior managers of municipal underwritings for 1994 through Aug. 31, according to Securities Data Co. The firm served as lead underwriter on $242.6 million of issues for a 0.2% market share. Despite a relatively small piece of underwriting business. the firm is still known as the largest underwriter in Oklahoma.

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