Southwest

Municipal bond issuers in the Southwest, despite the pandemic — or perhaps in part because of the conditions it created — set a record for annual issuance.

Brazos Electric Power Cooperative filed for bankruptcy saying it can't pay the electric bills foisted on it by the state's grid operator, ERCOT.

Municipal issuers in the Southwest sold $93.5 billion of debt in 2020, a year in which the coronavirus upended the way bond business is done.

Texas' failure to supply the power needed to save lives in a deep freeze is seen as threat to the state's recruitment of new business investment.

The deep freeze, and Texas power market structure, left the state's public utilities with sky-high wholesale power bills and a trail of burst water pipes.

The firm's leaders say Hilltop Securities sees growth opportunity in municipal bond underwriting, while financial advisory services will "grow selectively."

The January sales tax report shows that Texas is recovering but still hurting on some revenue streams, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.

This year's pension debt volume could match that of 2020, which was the highest since the financial crisis year of 2008, industry leaders say.

Returns of all the investment grade options "pale in comparison to those for municipal high-yield," which should bolster Texas gas and Chicago public schools deals.

With interest rates at historic lows and stock market returns at record highs, Tucson sees a ripe opportunity to issue pension debt.