WASHINGTON — Long-term public municipal issuance volume reached $71.8 billion in the third quarter of this year, down by 13.6% from the previous quarter, but up by 5.2% from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data cited in a report issued Thursday by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
If $2.1 billion private placements were included, total issuance volume would be $73.9 billion, the dealer group said in its third-quarter Municipal Credit Report.
Year to date issuance ending in September totaled $215.4 billion, about 22.3% lower than the 10-year average of $277.3 billion.
Tax-exempt issuance declined 12.7% to $64.7 billion from the second quarter, but increased 6.7% from the same quarter last year. Taxable issuance for the third quarter was $4.9 billion, a decline of 20.8% and 10.9%, from last quarter and last year, respectively. Issuance of bonds subject to the alternative minimum tax was $2.2 billion, a decline of 22.6% compared to the second quarter, but an increase of 2.9% from a year ago.
General purpose bond issuance reached $21.7 billion in the third quarter, followed by $12.1 billion of bonds for primary and secondary education, and $8.7 billion of water and sewer bonds - the same rankings as the previous quarter.
Refunding bonds as a percentage of total issuance rose slightly to 58.2%, compared to 53.8% in the second quarter of this year.
