The New York City Transitional Finance Authority plans a $1 billion sale of fixed-rate future tax-secured subordinate new-money bonds next week, beginning with a two-day retail period that starts Monday.
According to a spokesman for New York City Comptroller John Liu, $800 million will be tax-exempt and sold through the TFA’s syndicate, led by book-running senior manager Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Barclays Capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are co-senior managers.
Additionally, the TFA, which finances a portion of the city’s capital markets plan, intends to sell $100 million of taxable new-money qualified school construction bonds and $100 million of taxable new-money bonds by competitive sale on Wednesday.
Sidley Austin LLP is bond counsel, with the city’s corporation counsel also advising. Winston & Strawn LLP is representing the underwriters. Public Resources Advisory Group and PFM Group Inc. are the co-financial advisors.
Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings assign AAA ratings to outstanding TFA bonds, while Moody’s Investors Service rates them Aa1. The TFA has applied for confirmations of these ratings in anticipation of the bond sale, but has yet to receive them, according to Liu’s office.
Moody’s on Thursday affirmed its Aa2 rating and stable outlook on the city’s $41.3 billion of general obligation bonds.
At the same time it affirmed its Aa3 ratings assigned to $1.8 billion of city appropriation-backed bonds issued through the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., the New York City Educational Construction Fund, the New York City Industrial Development Agency and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, as well as the A2 ratings assigned to $3 billion of outstanding Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corp. revenue bonds.
In its report, Moody’s praised the city for its budgetary controls and early recognition of future budget pressure, which have helped it navigate the economic downturn. However, the agency said euro zone uncertainty and a tentative national recovery could hover over the city.
“The city’s economy is reliant on a volatile financial services sector, but it continues to diversify and its finances will benefit. While the city has taken proactive measures that have provided near-term benefits, its mounting costs for debt service, pensions and retiree health care will continue to be a challenge for the city, even with recent reforms,” Moody’s wrote.
In April, the TFA sold $800 million of future tax-secured bonds. Two weeks ago, the city sold $813 million of GO refunding bonds.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the 51-member City Council must agree to a final budget by June 30. The Independent Budget Office, a watchdog agency, said recently that the city could end fiscal 2012 with a $1.8 billion surplus, $73 million more than the administration estimated.
It also projected the following year’s shortfall at $2.4 billion, less than the administration’s $3 billion.
Despite the more optimistic numbers, “the city’s fiscal landscape remains challenging,” the IBO said.
