BAML, TD win Mass. GO deals; Citi takes Fairfax Co., Va., bonds

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and TD Securities won the bidding for Massachusetts’ $600 million of general obligation bonds Tuesday while Citigroup won the gilt-edge Fairfax County, Va., bonds.

Primary activity was centered in the competitive sector.

Massachusetts competitively sold $600 million of unlimited tax general obligation bonds in two separate offerings.

BAML won the $400 million of consolidated loan of 2018 Series A GOs with a true interest cost of 3.7108%.

The issue was priced as 5s to yield from 2.57% in 2033 to 2.84% in 2048.

TD won the $200 million of consolidated loan of 2018 Series B GOs with a TIC of 2.5093%.

Both deals are rated Aa1 by Moody’s Investors Service, AA by S&P Global Ratings and AA-plus by Fitch Ratings.

Since 2008 Massachusetts has sold about $28.5 billion of bonds, with the most issuance occurring in 2016 when it sold $4.8 billion. The Bay State saw the least amount in 2008 when it sold $1.19 billion.

BB-011018-MUN

Fairfax County, Va., sold $225.19 million of Series 2018A unlimited tax GO public improvement bonds.

Citigroup won the bonds with a TIC of 2.6642%. The issue was priced to yield from 1.38% with a 2% coupon in 2018 to 2.90% in 2037.

The deal is rated triple-A by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch.

And the Roseville Area Schools Independent School District No. 623, Minn., sold $139.24 million of Series 2018A unlimited tax GO school building bonds.

BAML won the bonds with a TIC of 3.1151%. The issue was priced to yield from 1.51% with a 5% coupon in 2019 to 3.12% with a 4% coupon in 2038.

The deal was sold under the Minnesota School District Credit Enhancement Program and rated Aa2 by Moody’s.

On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley is expected to price the Stanford Health Care’s $500 million of Series 2018 corporate CUSIP taxable bonds.

On Thursday, RBC Capital Markets is expected to price the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority’s $410 million of Series 2018A taxable revenue bonds while JPMorgan Securities is set to price the Illinois Finance Authority’s $218.67 million of Series 2018 taxable revenue refunding bonds.

Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply at $6.98B
The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar increased $168.5 million to $6.98 billion on Monday. The total is comprised of $3.33 billion of competitive sales and $3.64 billion of negotiated deals.

Secondary market
The MBIS municipal non-callable 5% GO benchmark scale was mixed in midday trading.

The 10-year muni benchmark yield fell to 2.268% on Tuesday from the final read of 2.275% on Monday, according to Municipal Bond Information Services. The MBIS 30-year benchmark muni yield rose to 2.765% from 2.751%.

The MBIS benchmark index is updated hourly on the Bond Buyer Data Workstation.

Top-rated municipal bonds were weaker at mid-session. The yield on the 10-year benchmark muni general obligation rose one to three basis points on Tuesday from 2.01% on Monday, while the 30-year GO yield gained two to four basis points from 2.59%, according to a read of MMD’s triple-A scale.

Equities added to their gains as the dollar rose, pushing Treasury bond yields to their highest level in nine months.

U.S. Treasuries were weaker in midday activity. The yield on the two-year Treasury gained to 1.97% on Tuesday from 1.95% on Monday, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.54% from 2.48% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury increased to 2.88% from 2.81%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up about 0.42%, the S&P 500 rose around 0.26% while the Nasdaq gained around 0.10%.

On Monday, the 10-year muni-to-Treasury ratio was calculated at 81.0% compared with 81.2% on Friday, while the 30-year muni-to-Treasury ratio stood at 92.1% versus 91.8%, according to MMD.

MSRB: Previous session's activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 40,823 trades on Monday on volume of $10.11 billion.

Data appearing in this article from Municipal Bond Information Services, including the MBIS municipal bond index, is available on The Bond Buyer Data Workstation. Click here for a brief tour of the Workstation, or contact Vanessa Kim at 212-803-8474 for more information.

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Primary bond market Secondary bond market Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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