Michigan

Closing is scheduled for White Lake Township, Michigan's second try at a GO bond sale after the first was interrupted by the cybertheft of bond proceeds.

While the White Lake, Michigan, township hack is the best-known and publicly disclosed cyberattack, there have been others. Some issuers and firms are reluctant to share these experiences publicly.

SEC probe relating to a cyberattack on a Michigan township's bond sale could involve looking into whether investors are getting an accurate picture of the issuer's credit risk, a former SEC enforcement attorney said.

White Lake Township, Michigan, is facing legal action on two fronts: one of them related to the hack of its bond deal closing last year, the other a civil suit. 

Charter schools drove the worst January ever for impairments since Municipal Market Analytics began tracking default trends, the firm said in a Feb. 5 report.

Detroit Public Schools Community District has taken the state Treasury Department to court over its ability to use operating tax revenue to pay down bonds.

The offering document for a White Lake Township bond sale sheds more light on the hack criminals used to intercept funds between the underwriter and borrower.

The battle over ESG investing is spreading in the Midwest, with the recent passage of an Ohio law and a decision by the Indiana Public Retirement System.

It's hard enough convincing local governments to spend money on cyber insurance that covers ransomware attacks, said Omid Rahmani, public finance cybersecurity lead at Fitch Ratings. The new and very specific threat of a hacked financing process, is "absolutely" underappreciated by the public finance industry.

Wednesday marks the 10-year anniversary of Detroit's exit from bankruptcy. Its Chapter 9 declaration in 2013 was the largest municipal bankruptcy in the U.S.