Why CDFA is conducting a survey on conduit bond fees

WASHINGTON – The Council of Development Finance Agencies is conducting a survey of issuers around the nation to learn more about trends in conduit bond fees, the group announced this week.

The survey of local, state and multi-jurisdictional issuers who sell private activity bonds in conduit transactions is being conducted online and will be compiled into a report that the CDFA said it will unveil at the group’s National Development Finance Summit in November.

Sponsoring the undertaking are two agencies -- the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the Florida Development Finance Corporation.

“Since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, many CDFA members have remarked that their issuances and fees related to private activity bonds are under review due to changes in the market,” CDFA said in an email announcing the survey. “CDFA is asking all issuers regardless of their size, geographic jurisdiction, or financing scope to fill out the survey today.”

The survey asks about the fee practices of conduit issuers, including what types of fees they charge and how those fees are applied. It also asks how often the issuer reviews its conduit fees, whether it also charges expenses, and where it receives its funding from.

In addition, the survey asks an open-ended question about what effects tax reform has had on the issuer.

CDFA Government Affairs Manager Tim Fisher said the idea for the survey was driven in part because the CDFA has not conducted any such kind of poll of its membership since the early 2000s, and the group wants to understand the fee landscape is today.

The National Development Finance Summit is being held Nov. 7-9 in Dallas, Texas.

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Primary bond market Private activity bonds Tax reform Bonds Private activity bonds Washington DC
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