An upgrade from Standard & Poor's helped spur $396 million worth of retail orders during last week's institutional sale of transportation revenue bonds, according to an official with New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
"We were very pleased," McCoy told the MTA board's finance committee on Monday.
The MTA held final institutional pricing on its $500 million deal June 19.
On June 17, S&P raised its issuer credit rating to AA-minus and its long-term rating on the transportation revenue bonds, the authority's primary credit, to AA-minus from A-plus with a stable outlook.
Proceeds financed existing approved transit and commuter projects. Book-running senior manager Jefferies & Co. led the transaction along with co-senior manager Stern Brothers & Co., a women-owned firm.
Nixon Peabody LLP was bond counsel.
Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings rate the bonds A2 and A, respectively. The MTA has roughly $34 billion in debt as of May 30.
The authority also remarketed two subseries of dedicated tax fund bonds on June 18. "We diversified our variable-rate debt," McCoy said.
In one $170.8 million subseries involves an irrevocable direct-pay credit facility issued by Royal Bank of Canada, to substitute for one by Morgan Stanley that is set to expire.
In the other subseries, for $169.7 million, the MTA remarketed a facility issued by Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. that was set to expire. These bonds will continue in term-rate mode as floating rate notes.
Goldman, Sachs & Co. led the second transaction along with minority-owned co-senior manager Estrada Hinojosa & Co.
Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP was bond counsel for the remarketings.
Public Financial Management Inc. was financial advisor on all three transactions.
