Municipal Market

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This Government Bond Insures Against Failure

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The first-ever environmental impact bond gives an agency some of its money back if its idea doesn't pan out.
BY  | NOVEMBER 10, 2016

As the drive for accountability in government spending increases, many are looking for ways to keep from paying the full price for programs that don't work.

In Washington, D.C., that desire has led to the first-ever environmental impact bond, issued this fall by DC Water, the city's water and sewer authority. The $25 million bond will pay for new, green infrastructure like rain gardens and permeable pavement to reduce stormwater runoff.

But if the projects don't work as expected, that's where the new financing structure comes in. Under the terms of the bond, which DC Water sold directly to Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group and the nonprofit Calvert Foundation, the utility stands to get a multimillion discount on its total borrowing costs if the project doesn't meet a certain threshold.

It's essentially an insurance policy on the project's effectiveness. Here's how it works: After five years, the new infrastructure will be evaluated. If stormwater runoff isn't reduced by at least 18.6 percent, investors will owe DC Water a $3.3 million "risk share" payment. The payment represents a near-full refund of the 3.43 percent interest rate payments DC Water made during the first five years of the bond. After that, the bonds would likely be refinanced into 25-year bonds. DC Water would also drop green infrastructure projects and go back to so-called gray ones (like pumps and water tunnels) to reduce runoff.

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SEC Censures 71 Governments for Lack of Fiscal Transparency

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Financial timeliness is a problem that's 'widespread and pervasive,' the SEC said.
BY  | AUGUST 25, 2016

More than 70 state and local governments have been censured for failing to disclose certain financial information about bonds they sold to investors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday.

The SEC reached settlements with 71 governments across 45 states as part of a voluntary self-reporting program called the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative (MCDC). Only five states -- Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Oregon and Rhode Island -- had no governments or government entities censured.

The number of citations show the problem is “widespread and pervasive,” said SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney in a statement.

MCDC is part of the commission's push for better transparency in the municipal market. Under the program, governments had to review documents associated with bonds they issued over the past five years. If they found anything amiss -- be it that they failed to disclose a previous annual financial report or didn't notify investors of a credit rating downgrade after the sale -- they could voluntarily come forward and obtain favorable settlement terms.

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The Week in Public Finance: Demanding Better Government Disclosure, Uneven Recoveries and a Party at the Pump

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | AUGUST 19, 2016

More Disclosure Pressure on Munis

Investors in the municipal market have long demanded better access to governments’ financial information, particularly since the 2008 financial crisis. But tired of waiting, an industry group stepped up its calls for federal regulators to intervene this week in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“The failure to publicly disclose bank loans to all market participants can lead to unexpected rating changes that negatively impact bond pricing,” said Lisa Washburn, chair of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts (NFMA). The group is calling for governments to disclose all interim but relevant information, such as an approved fiscal year budget and tax receipts, as well as clearly report any long-term debt obligations.

The letter also suggests that the SEC adopt the authority to ensure that municipalities file their financial disclosures in a timely manner. Currently, there is no enforced deadline, and governments typically file annual reports anywhere from six months to a year after the close of a fiscal year.

The Takeaway: The problem from an investor point of view is that the more troubled an issuer is, the more likely it will delay releasing relevant financial information. Take Puerto Rico, which is essentially out of cash and only recently issued its annual financial report for the 2014 fiscal year.

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The Week in Public Finance: Why Some Pensions Are Falling Behind, Stress Testing States and More

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | AUGUST 12, 2016

Pollyannaish About Pension Returns

Houston is fighting a losing battle with its pension system: The unfunded liability between Houston’s three plans totals at least $3.9 billion, up from $212 million in 1992. Meanwhile, pension costs as a percentage of the city’s revenue have doubled since 2000 and were one of the reasons behind a recent credit rating downgrade.

A new report from Rice University’s Kinder Institute identifies two main culprits for the funding crisis: Even though the city is now paying its full pension bill, it’s still not enough to chip away at the unfunded liability, and the three plans have assumed investment returns of between 8 and 8.5 percent -- that's higher than the national average and even higher than their own recent experience.

The report's authors looked at examples of pension changes in other major cities and highlighted potential solutions, including raising the cap on the city’s revenues so it can generate more money for pensions; increasing employee contributions; and reducing cost-of-living payments to retirees. “All of these options would generate different amounts of funding in different time frames,” the report said. "[But] none would likely solve the problem alone.”

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The Week in Public Finance: Hot Munis, Cooling Off Creditors and Warming Up to Facebook

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | JULY 22, 2016

It’s July and Muni Bonds Are Hot

The municipal bond market could be off to its best start since 2010, when federal policies helped fuel new issuance. During the first six months of this year, a total of $221 billion in bonds have been brought to market by state and local governments, according to data from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). The total includes new bonds and refinanced ones.

Most of that activity has come from the second quarter of the year, specifically in May and June when the volume of new bonds in each month was the highest since 2008, according to an analysis by RBC Capital Markets’ Chris Mauro. Even Puerto Rico’s recent default on a $2 billion debt payment has not appeared to phase investors or hurt interest rates.

The market is currently on pace to finish the year with over $430 billion in issuance. But with more than five months to go before the end of the year, anything could happen -- particularly with a volatile presidential contest underway. Last year, the pace cooled in the second half of the year, with the value of total bonds issued finishing just shy of $400 billion. Still, Mauro said he is increasing his original prediction of new bond volume to somewhere between $400 billion and $425 billion.

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Who Should Police Municipal Markets?

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A questionable bond sale in Illinois has left some wondering why there's no one to stop financially troubled governments from borrowing.
BY  | JUNE 30, 2016

Borrowers have long assumed that banks and other traditional lenders will only loan them as much money as they can responsibly afford. Almost a decade ago, the subprime mortgage crisis shattered that belief. But it might still persist in the municipal market.

Take Illinois, whose fiscal woes are no secret. It has the lowest credit rating (BBB+) -- by far -- of all 50 states, its pensions are among the worst-funded in the country and it's entering its second fiscal year without a budget. Yet earlier this month, Illinois borrowed more than a half-billion dollars from municipal market investors with relative ease.

The state paid a higher interest rate for its troubles. But thanks to the high demand for municipal bonds these days, the rate was actually lower than the one Illinois paid on its last bond issuance in January.

"That's the biggest weakness of the municipal market," said Matt Fabian, managing director for Municipal Market Analytics. "We will help issuers borrow as much as they say they want, whether or not they can afford it."

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The Week in Public Finance: What Brexit Means for Muni Bonds, Pension Projections and More

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | JUNE 24, 2016

What Brexit Means for the Municipal Bond Market

On Thursday, Britain voters shocked the world by deciding to exit the European Union in a vote that became known as "Brexit," a combination of Britain and exit. The result, which prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to say he will step down in the coming months, has implications for global financial markets, which in turn can affect the U.S. municipal market.

Even before the results of the vote were in, the uncertainty of the outcome was affecting markets everywhere. Global stocks and some corporate bonds had slumped while demand for traditionally safer assets like U.S. Treasuries and municipal bonds had “soared,” according to Ivan Gulich, senior vice president of the financial firm Loop Capital Markets.

This increased demand for municipal bonds has driven down interest rates, which is good for governments looking to borrow money. For example, the interest rate on a 30-year Treasury bond is currently lower than it was even in the wake of the Lehman Brothers' 2008 bankruptcy that roiled the corporate market and drove demand toward government securities.

“What was initially seen as an issue for Europe has rattled markets around the world,” wrote Gulich this week in an analysis.

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How Zika Could Infect the Municipal Bond Market

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Even if an area has no cases of the virus, it could feel a financial impact.
BY  | MAY 27, 2016

When you walk through Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, it’s hard to ignore the solemn warnings that the city could be an entry point for the Zika virus into the United States.

Everywhere, large signs picturing a menacing mosquito warn travelers: “Don’t let this bad bug bite you.” Other signs warn pregnant travelers about a Zika health advisory. Last month, airport concessionaires began selling insect repellent with the recommended level of DEET to keep mosquitoes at bay.

But there are also financial implications of Atlanta’s status as a gateway to Central and South American travel, and for other cities like it. According to a new report by the investment firm, Loop Capital Markets, the Zika virus could make it more expensive for some municipalities to borrow money.

That's because similar to natural disasters, a virus outbreak has the potential to overwhelm local and state health departments. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina "demonstrated the enormous capacity of governments to botch disaster relief efforts,” said Chris Mier, the report's author. Since then, research has shown that a region's susceptibility to disasters now plays a role in their municipal interest rates. For example, a study of California's more earthquake-prone cities found that they paid a higher interest rate on their bonds following Hurricane Katrina.

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The Week in Public Finance: Muni Credit Trends, the Next Round of Tax Reforms and More

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | MAY 20, 2016

What’s Going on With Muni Credits?

The trend of local governments only seeking out one credit rating for bonds is growing. Now, one in five bonds issued in the municipal market has just a single credit rating assigned to it, according to data from Municipal Market Analytics (MMA).

This can be attributed to several factors. For one, fewer individual investors -- the biggest users of credit ratings information -- are directly purchasing muni bonds, so the demand for multiple ratings has lessened. Also, agencies are increasingly giving different ratings to the same bond, which “undermines the notch-by-notch value of individual rating assignments," said MMA analyst Matt Fabian.

Along with this trend is another one: A significant portion of municipal issuers are worse off than they were at the end of the Great Recession. By the measure of PNC Capital Markets analyst Tom Kozlik, 20 percent of state and local governments have seen their underlying credit quality decline -- some significantly so.

Kozlik blames this on one key fact: governments' inability to balance their revenue and spending to live within their means. “Also,” Kozlik adds, “some state and local governments still have not grasped the scale, costs and risk that pension liabilities and other post-employment benefits still pose to credit quality and fiscal balance.”

Municipal Bond Market Faces New Pressure

A new federal rule could make it more expensive for governments to issue debt in a financial crisis.
BY  | APRIL 5, 2016

Selling government bonds could become more difficult during the next credit crunch, thanks to a new federal rule outlining the kind of liquid assets that banks must hold in case of an emergency.

The rule, issued Friday, greatly limits the kinds of municipal bonds that qualify in a big bank’s investment portfolio as "highly liquid" -- in other words, assets that can be sold quickly for cash. The new regulation was issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and is a modification of its previous proposal with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

There's no immediate negative effect for government issuers. But if and when the next credit crunch hits, it could become more expensive for states and localities to issue debt. That's because if fewer bonds qualify as highly liquid, there would be less market demand for them. And lower demand would mean higher interest rates for governments.

“As long as munis continue to have a good risk-adjusted return for banks, they’ll continue to invest," said Chris Mauro, who leads RBC Capital Markets’ municipal strategy team. “It’s really when you’re entering a liquidity crisis and banks are running up against their limit: Unfortunately they may liquidate some of their municipal [bonds] as a result. And they’ll use those proceeds to buy highly liquid assets.”

A New Twist on ‘Pay for Success’ Programs

A variation on the existing model would provide a money back guarantee should a project fail.
BY  | MARCH 24, 2016

This year has already seen a flurry of activity when it comes to governments and the private sector partnering on social programs. Fewer than three months into 2016 and three governments have announced so-called pay for success or social impact bond projects, boosting the total number of such programs to 11 across the country.

Now, there may be a new option for governments interested in the model, but wary of its complicated nature. Under a pay for success or social impact bond program, private funders finance a preventive social or health program and only get paid back if the project meets its goals over the course of a predetermined set of years. The new model, announced by Third Sector Capital Partners on Thursday, offers a money back guarantee.

With a “social impact guarantee” or SIG project, governments front the money (instead of a private investor) and get paid back if the project doesn’t meet its goals. Specifics are sparse, but Third Sector co-founder George Overholser says he's currently working with two states on creating the country’s first SIG projects and hopes to announce them by the end of this year.

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The Week in Public Finance: School Shutdowns, Trading Munis and Small Business Lending

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | MARCH 4, 2016

Education Opens Closes Doors

One of states' top spending items is education. When lawmakers can’t agree on a budget -- or they decide to make severe cuts -- higher education often gets hurt. Sometimes, even K-12 spending takes a hit. In Illinois and Pennsylvania, ongoing stalemates over the current fiscal year’s budget may lead to school closures. In Louisiana, potential major cuts have students protesting.

Let’s start in Illinois, where three state universities have taken severe hits. Last Friday, Chicago State University sent layoff notices to all 900 of its employees. The school is making plans to end its semester early unless the state makes good on funding promises. That alarming news came after Western Illinois University announced it would cut $20 million from its budget over the next two years, while laying off 100 employees. Southern Illinois University is contemplating $40 million in cuts and has already started closing programs, such as men’s tennis and women’s golf. Most recently, Eastern Illinois University, which saw its credit rating downgraded to junk status last month, laid off nearly 200 employees, although the school president offered assurances that the university was not closing.

Congress Creates Bipartisan Municipal Finance Caucus

The group's top priority will be preserving the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, which President Obama wants to reduce for higher earners.
BY  | MARCH 2, 2016

State and local governments have a new bipartisan set of advocates for their interests on Capitol Hill. This week, two congressmen launched the Municipal Finance Caucus to protect the municipal bond market.

U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, an Illinois Republican, and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, a Maryland Democrat, announced the formation of the caucus on Tuesday at the annual legislative meeting for the National Association of State Treasurers in Washington, D.C. They didn't say how many members they've recruited, but both have regularly rallied support on municipal finance issues from more than 100 of their Democratic and Republican colleagues.

“Our primary focus will be on telling the story of how important the current tax [status] of municipal finance is, and how risky, damaging and how harmful a change would be,” said Hultgren. “So we’re going to be very active, very vocal in telling these stories.”

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The Week in Public Finance: States Dare Online Retailers to Sue, a Local Government Shutdown Threat and More

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Don't Like It? Sue Me

Tired of waiting for Congress to approve a tax on Internet sales, more than a dozen states -- including Alabama, South Dakota and Utah -- are moving to pass bills or change regulations in ways that deliberately invite lawsuits from Internet retailers. The goal? Landing the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Alabama, for its part, will start enforcing an old law it says allows it to tax out-of-state sellers. The state will audit companies that don’t file returns.

“We’re confident that some remote sellers will not comply and therefore it will lead to litigation,” Alabama Deputy Revenue Commissioner Joe Garrett told The Wall Street Journal. “We have been very open about what we’re doing.”

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The Week in Public Finance: Atlantic City’s Intervention, New Pay-for-Success Projects and Arizona's Pension Reform

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | FEBRUARY 19, 2016

Intervention in Atlantic City

Top New Jersey lawmakers have finally announced details of their plan to take over Atlantic City’s finances.The proposal was unveiled this week in a state Senate bill that gives more power to state financial overseers.

Atlantic City’s tax revenues have dropped dramatically in recent years as multiple casino closures have dried up the city’s main industry and revenue source.

"The intervention plan will enable the state and the city to work together to accomplish what Atlantic City can't do on its own," said Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a co-sponsor of the bill. "The city's fiscal crisis is severe and immediate. ... The state has to take a more direct role."

The bill would expand the role of the state's Local Finance Board chief so that they could not only renegotiate the struggling city's debt but also dissolve or consolidate city agencies and departments, share services with Atlantic County and sell city assets.

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Rethinking the Game Plan for Stadium Bonds

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Is a 30-year bond realistic when the economic lives of stadiums are proving to be much shorter?
BY  | FEBRUARY 11, 2016

In the world of sports stadiums, 20 is the new 30.

Stadiums are typically financed through bonds that take 30 years to pay off. But their useful life isn't always that long.

Just take last month’s announcement that the St. Louis Rams would be decamping to Los Angeles, leaving behind its 20-something football stadium for a shiny new one. The St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority is still paying off a portion of the $259 million in bonds it issued to build the Rams a new stadium when they moved from L.A. in 1995.

It's not the only issuer paying off 30-year debt for a project that didn't make it the full life of the bond. In Georgia, the Atlanta Falcons are moving to a new stadium next year even though the Georgia Dome is less than 25 years old. The San Antonio Spurs left the Alamodome in 2003, just 10 years after it was built.

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The Week in Public Finance: A Muni Bond Victory in Congress and a Ukraine-Inspired Idea to Restructure Puerto Rico

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | FEBRUARY 5, 2016

Preparing -- or Not -- for a Slowdown

The financial outlook for states and localities over the next few years, simply put, isn’t as rosy as it’s been for the past couple of years. (If you even want to call the last couple of years rosy.)

Last week, we reported that states other than oil-dependent ones are dealing with mid-year spending cuts. Looking ahead, state budget forecasters are expecting tepid sales and income tax revenue growth for both 2016 and 2017. If spending continues to grow faster than revenues, the next few years could be challenging for government budgets.

“States still haven’t made up for a lot of the cutting that got done in the last six to eight years,” said Bill Pound, the executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures. In particular, states are still trying to restore education funding while implementing higher standards, he said.