Bond volume

BofA Securities led with $62.01 billion of deals. Out of the top five, only Morgan Stanley increased its market share year-over-year.

The U.S. Treasury selloff caught up to tax-exempts with two to three basis point cuts to scales, but munis still outperform.

Municipal volume is estimated at $1.13 billion for the opening week of 2022. Persistently strong net supply challenges will bias credit spreads tighter, credit discipline weaker in the next few years, analysts say.

2022 volume projections are clouded by many uncertainties. What is not murky is that demand for municipals is unlikely to fade.

Investors will also receive $139 billion of interest payments in 2022, about $593 million more than in 2021, according to a report from CreditSights.

Total November volume was up 58.3% to $33.818 billion versus $21.359 billion a year earlier, but the figure is average over a 10-year period. A combination of factors from policy uncertainty in Washington to fears of rising rates led to the increase.

A majority of firms anticipate less volume in 2022 than the record hit in 2020, but how policies from Washington and the path of overall economic activity in a still-recovering global economy with COVID overhang make predicting volume more difficult.

CDFA is advocating for a holistic solution from Congress to address private activity bond challenges.

October has, on average, been the heaviest new-issue month of the year. Analysts said the lower volume, particularly taxables, was led by many issuers sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a potential package from Washington, D.C.

September issuance was down more than 32% from the same month in 2020; total issuance so far this year is at $346.48 billion, down 2.4% compared to last year.