CHICAGO — Indiana Treasurer Richard Murdock has tapped finance veteran Lisa Cottingham to serve as the new director of the Indiana Bond Bank, one of the state’s largest borrowers.
Cottingham, who currently serves as comptroller of the state corrections system, will assume the position July 28.
The move marks a return for Cottingham, who served as Bond Bank director from 1992 to 1995. She has also served as treasurer of the Indianapolis Airport Authority and chief deputy at the Marion County auditor’s office.
“She rose to the top of a long list of highly qualified applicants,” Murdock, who is also the bond bank’s chairman, said in a statement. “Lisa’s experience in both the private sector and the government, along with her knowledge in the bond markets, will serve the Indiana Bond Bank very well.”
Former long-time director Dan Huge left in mid-March to become chief financial officer of the Indianapolis-Marion County Capital Improvement Board.
Ron Mangus, formerly the Bond Bank’s program operations director who is currently serving as acting director, will become deputy director.
Meanwhile, the bank Tuesday priced up to $58 million of taxable common-school fund advancement-purchase funding bonds.
The sale is part of the Bond Bank’s regular issuance to replenish the state’s common school fund. The Indiana Department of Education taps the fund to make loans to school districts that fall in the bottom 40% of per-pupil state aid.
“We usually go to market [with common school fund bonds] once a year or even less, but now we’ve been in the market for the third time in two years,” Mangus said. “Right now market conditions are such that we want to put as much as possible into the fund.”
Raymond James & Associates Inc. is senior manager and Blaylock Robert Van LLC is co-senior. Barnes & Thornburg LLP is bond counsel. Crowe Horwath LLP is the Bond Bank’s financial adviser.
The bonds are secured by state school tuition support payments. The Education Department and state Board of Finance have agreed to withhold debt service payments from the borrowers and transfer the money to the bond trustee.
Based in part on the state intercept, Standard & Poor’s rates the debt AA-plus with a stable outlook.
The Bond Bank traditionally issued tax-exempt debt for the program, but starting last year began issuing taxable bonds in case the state does not spend the proceeds in a timely manner, Mangus said.
Indiana is expected to announce its qualified school construction bond allocation later this month. As it did last August when it sold $77 million of QSCBs, the bank will offer a pooled financing program to school districts interested in issuing the taxable stimulus bonds. It expects to enter the market with the bonds sometime in the fall, Mangus said.
