Taylor Riggs

While larger law firms have mostly kept their top-10 spots in the municipal bond counsel rankings, it's the smaller firms that have made a splash this year.

Though municipal yields are rising across the curve from September's record lows, issuers are bringing more debt to market. A total of $6.68 billion is expected in the primary this week, up from last week's revised $4.49 billion.

U.S. municipal borrowers should be grateful for Dexia Group's bailout last weekend.

The municipal market will see about $1 billion less in new issuance this week after struggling to digest last week's supply as yields rose across the curve, forcing some issuers to stay on the sidelines until yields fall again.

With the municipal underwriting landscape in flux due to low supply and record low yields, smaller investment banks are jumping into the muni bond underwriting business to get a piece of the action.

While Dexia Group has a substantially reduced its footprint in the U.S. municipal market, its lingering financial woes are still a thorn in the side for some bond issues exposed to the troubled Franco-Belgian lender.

Reports that Dexia Group is in need of another bailout should have little impact on the U.S. municipal bond market as issuers have been steadily reducing their exposure to the troubled Franco-Belgian lender.

With municipal bond issuance down 35% for the first three quarters of the year, the underwriting business remains competitive as banks reach for whatever deals may be available.

Municipal issuance for the first three quarters of the year is still down relative to last year, but the gap is closing quickly.

The municipal market can expect $8.26 billion of new issues this week, a slight increase from last week, despite rising yields across the curve.

Health care investment banking shop Cain Brothers has hired a senior banker to help lead its distressed credit team.

Standard & Poor's has placed muni bond insurer Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. on negative CreditWatch for significant concentration risk in its insured portfolio.

Standard & Poor's has placed muni bond insurer Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. on negative CreditWatch for significant concentration risk in its insured portfolio.

Healthy bond insurers are not expected to return to the municipal world for at least two or three years, leaving investors without a safety net for the foreseeable future, analysts at Moody's Investors Service said.

Radian Group and its financial guaranty subsidiary, Radian Asset Assurance, has partnered with the National League of Cities to explore the formation of a what would be the first-ever public finance mutual bond insurance company.

Plunging interest rates are luring more issuers to market, encouraging market participants to believe muni volume for the final months of 2011 can increase from recent anemic levels.

Closing in on the one-year anniversary of its bankruptcy filing, Ambac Financial Group has filed a new reorganization plan that all parties involved have agreed on.

Low new-issue volume and active early redemption of debt contributed to a decline in the amount of outstanding municipal debt in the second quarter to $2.89 trillion.

The summer doldrums are officially over, as issuance in the municipal market is expected to surge this week.

MBIA Inc. has had strokes of luck lately, with the most recent positive developments coming from lawsuits filed against the company.