Bond volume

Municipal bond issuance in the Lone Star State totaled $59 billion in 2023, spurred by utility rate securitizations and school bonds.

With a high of $450 billion and a low of $330 billion, no firms currently see issuance surpassing the records hit in 2020 and 2021.

November's total volume rose 7.8% to $28.464 billion in 652 issues. For volume to top total 2022 issuance, December would need to see $44.329 billion of issuance.

"The lack of standardization is a very real problem that impacts all facets," said Ted Chapman, managing director and investment banker at Hilltop Securities.

October's total volume rose 29.3% to $37.156 billion in 661 issues from $28.738 billion in 614 issues a year earlier. New-money grew more than 30% while refundings were up by nearly 75%.

As valuations got richer after muni outperformance this week, Barclays strategists expect munis to be "truly tested in the next several weeks, with supply picking up."

September's total volume ticked up 1.2% to $27.585 billion in 531 issues from $27.251 billion in 592 issues a year earlier. However, the month's total is lower than the $30.652 billion 10-year average, according to Refinitiv data.

Data for the second quarter show the face amount of munis outstanding rose 0.4% quarter-over-quarter, or $15.5 billion, to $4.043 trillion.

Despite this, August saw the largest monthly volume of 2023, helped by several billion-dollar deals and multiple Texas school district deals.

Municipal bond issuance in the Far West was down 2.3% in a first half that saw volume drop 17.1% nationally.

The region's issuers sold $30.3 billion of municipal bonds in the first half of 2023, 29.9% less than they did during the same period last year

Healthcare and transportation had the biggest contraction in issuance volume.

Total volume in the first half of the year was $180.882 billion in 3,853 deals, down 17.1% from the $218.230 billion in 5,444 over the same period in 2022, according to Refinitiv data.

New York deals dominated the top ranks of regional issuers in the first half of 2023 even as supply sank around the Northeast and around the country.

July's total volume was $25.939 billion in 542 issues, down from $28.258 billion in 619 issues a year earlier, the smallest percentage drop in monthly issuance year-over-year in 2023, according to Refinitiv data.

Total volume for the month was $34.436 billion in 744 issues, down from $37.775 billion in 984 issues a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data.

Market participants agree issuance will not hit the highs seen in 2020 and 2021, but they are split on whether issuance will surpass the $384.086 billion of debt issued in 2022.

Federal Reserve data shows that retail ownership of municipals rose $58.8 billion, or 3.7% quarter-over-quarter, to $1.67 trillion. Bank ownership fell in the first quarter by $13.3 billion.

Total volume for the month was $26.062 billion in 677 issues, down from $36.583 billion in 928 issues a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data.

Total volume for the month was $30.599 billion in 577 issues, down from $40.423 billion in 900 issues a year earlier. Total issuance year-to-date is at $107.626 billion, falling 25.2% from the same period of 2022.