Bond volume

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.

Northeast municipal issuers sold $129.99 billion of debt in 2020 amid the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

While issuance fell significantly from 2020, it was higher than January's and only the fifth time in 35 years that volume exceeded $30 billion in February.

Issuance dropped 26.7% in January, tax-exempt issuance fell 32.6% while refundings and taxables saw smaller declines. Part of the drops were due to the typical nature of lighter January issuance but also issuer anticipation of potential federal aid to combat the pandemic.

After one of the worst sell-offs in municipal market history as COVID-19 began its rampage in March, the market rebounded to set the all-time record.

Although November posted the lowest monthly volume total this year, issuance has already exceeded 2019's total and is on track to set a new yearly record in 2020.

Long-term municipal bond volume is on pace to set a new record of yearly issuance, thanks in part to issuers rushing to market before the election and a continued taxable boom.

The municipal market's volume registered its fourth consecutive month of greater-than-$40 billion and the largest on record total for the month of September.

Municipal bond volume kept rolling in August, producing the second-highest volume for the month in the past decade, marking the third consecutive month this year of greater-than $40 billion.

A surge in taxable muni volume has overall issuance 18% higher in the first half of 2020.

The housing and transportation sectors had the biggest declines in municipal bond volume.

Municipal issuers continue to swarm the muni market with taxable muni deals, as July accounted for $42.6 billion — the highest total for the month since at least 1986.

The municipal market saw a $40 billion-plus month for the second time this year, as issuers flooded the market with bond sales during the month of June.

Bond volume was 4.2% lower than it was a year ago but increased from March and April’s low totals.

Issuance in the public finance sector is likely to contract in 2020, S&P Research says.

April finished with $23.7 billion of issuance, a 15% decline from the $27.9 billion in April 2019. Volatility from the pandemic has caused erratic swings in benchmark yields, resulting in the lowest muni volume total in the month since 2011.

Municipal bond issuance was $67.88 billion after the first two months of 2020 and was on pace to easily eclipse the $400 billion mark — then COVID-19 completely turned the market upside down.

Taxable bonds and COVID-19 are two of the main catalysts that helped February municipal bond volume ascend to its highest level since at least 1986.

Issuers in the Far West sold $85 billion of municipal bonds in 2019, a 23% increase from 2018.