Bonds

The amount of debt wrapped by bond insurance rose 5.8% in 2023, leading to the highest market penetration rate since 2008, despite the second year of down issuance. Demand for bond insurance has continued to grow in 2023 as market participants turned to it for investor confidence, increased market liquidity and enhanced credit ratings. All

Total 2023 municipal bond sale volume ticked down slightly year-over-year, but a robust fourth quarter and a late yearend rally saved last year from being the second consecutive year of issuance down double digits. Total volume in 2023 was $384.715 billion in 8,081 deals, down only 1.7% from $391.298 billion in 9,185 deals in 2022,

Issuance of variable rate demand obligations and other floating-rate debt increased in 2023 year-over-year — despite swings in short-term rates — marking the highest total since 2017. However, market participants remain uncertain whether that trend will continue into 2024 as issuers rethink the product amid continued volatility. Variable rate issuance rose 13.8% in 2023, increasing

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Transcription: Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio for the authoritative record. Caitlin Devitt (00:04): Hello and welcome to another Bond Buyer podcast. I’m Caitlin Devitt, senior Infrastructure

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has formally withdrawn its 2024 rate card filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, an administrative move that keeps in place the reverted rates from 2023. The board has also initiated a retrospective review of the annual rate card process and said it intends to take a hard look at

Southwest municipal bond issuance inched higher last year to $83.79 billion with Texas, which accounted for 70% of the debt, taking the top volume crown among states nationwide.  The region’s 0.6% gain over 2022 contrasted with the market’s overall 2.8% issuance decline,  according to LSEG Data & Analytics, formerly Refinitiv. Market volatility, higher interest rates,

Average underwriting spreads for all bonds were stagnant in 2023, continuing a 15-year downward trend, but negotiated and refunding deal spreads rose while competitive spreads fell. Underwriter spread ticked up slightly, rising to $3.66 in 2023 from $3.64 in 2022. Spreads on negotiated bonds rose to $3.76 in 2023 from $3.62 in 2022, while spreads

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured and fined Morgan Stanley $1.6 million for failing to close out 239 inter-dealer transactions within twenty days, as well as for failing to obtain physical possession of 247 short positions. In doing so, the banking giant violated MSRB Rule G-12(h) on uniform industry practices, MSRB Rule G-27 on

Sparse secondary trading and the long holiday weekend allowed municipals to outperform U.S. Treasuries and corporates Friday as the dearth of primary issuance has kept investors engaged without demanding as much concession despite volatility. Triple-A yields were slightly cheaper on the short end while UST yields rose up to nine basis points on the short

Austin, Texas, officials are heading to court to seek validation for a controversial issuance of bonds to help fund a multi-billion-dollar light-rail project. The Austin City Council on Thursday authorized the move, as well as amendments to an agreement with the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP), a corporation created by the city and its Capital Metro

Paulina Woo was named senior director of treasury management in Western Alliance Bank’s corporate finance and public and nonprofit finance groups. In her new role, Woo, who is based in Phoenix, will lead teams that tailor banking solutions for municipalities, local governments, nonprofit organizations, corporations and institutional investors. “Western Alliance Bank provides a distinctive set

As the infrastructure law nears the halfway point of its life, the rollout of its expanded Buy America provision, a key part of President Joe Biden’s bid to strengthen American manufacturing, has been confusing and failed to address gaps in the domestic supply chain. That was the message from state transportation departments and construction experts

Exceptions for manual trades and limited trading activity are crucial if the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s amendments to Rule G-14, its controversial move to a one-minute reporting standard from the current fifteen minute window, is adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s according to comments submitted to the SEC, which ranged from cautious acceptance

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the ESG Pension Protection Act — which requires the state pension fund’s decisions be based on maximizing returns — in a ceremony at the governor’s office. The bill, H.3690, was officially signed by the Republican governor on Feb. 5 and went into effect on Feb. 9. The bill directs

Tax incentives have long been a favored economic development tool of governments, but do we know how to actually use them ourselves? Well, we’re about to find out. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) deployed billions of dollars of tax incentives to fund clean energy and other green investments. In a history-making move, the bill opened

Moody’s Investors Service’s recent decision to stop endorsing U.S. public finance credit ratings for use in the European Union and the United Kingdom will trigger market volatility, negatively impact infrastructure needs, and reduce foreign investors’ presence in the muni market, market participants said. Due to Moody’s decision, EU/UK investors may be forced to sell their

California lawmakers are lining up statewide bond proposals ahead of the presidential election in November. The latest is a $1 billion bond measure introduced by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Los Angeles, in Assembly Bill 2208 to build out the ports to support offshore wind projects to generate electricity. Others include broad $16 billion climate bond

The secondary market was active and trading showed strong prints across the curve, pushing triple-A yields lower following a stronger U.S. Treasury market. Triple-A yields fell two to four basis points while UST yields fell two to three basis points. Municipal bond mutual funds saw the second week of outflows, with LSEG Lipper reporting $142.2

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board has brought on David Brownstein, who spent more than three decades at Citi with a focus on derivatives, distressed issuers and debt restructurings, as a restructuring advisor on its plan of adjustment for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. Brownstein’s new boutique restructuring advisory firm, BGC Partners Advisory LLC, entered

The House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony from Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel on Wednesday as he defended the $80 billion budget boost the agency received from the Inflation Reduction Act, an increase that bond lawyers have suggested will lead to increased audits.  “There’s absolutely money being left on the table in terms

A measure to lift the federal deduction cap on state and local taxes failed to advance on a procedural vote in the House Wednesday, dooming the latest effort by high-tax state lawmakers to kill the controversial law. The SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., would have doubled the current $10,000