The Battery Park City Authority is considering refinancing its $635 million of auction-rate securities and possibly doing a new infrastructure issue, said chief financial officer Robert Serpico.
The BPCA plans to seek a financial adviser through a request for proposals process to determine what would be the best approach to dealing with its ARS, which could include changing modes or refunding. Responses are due April 21.
The authority is an infrequent issuer and would need to form a bond team in order to do the new infrastructure issue as well as a possible refunding, Serpico said. The BPCA already received responses to an earlier request for proposals for underwriters.
The authority’s various series of ARS were resetting at rates between 2.8% and 3.85% in January. Those rates spiked when several auctions failed in February and some reset as high as 6.24%, according to Bloomberg LP. Those rates have generally come down to less than 5% but that has been in part due to a lower London Interbank Offered Rate, which the ARS failure rate was based on, Serpico said.
The issuer plans and coordinates commercial, residential, and public development on a 92-acre site in lower Manhattan.
