Municipal bonds on the rise

To maintain the city's good credit rating and robust fiscal health, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is also proposing a stronger debt management policy to make sure the city keeps its debt service below 15% of tax revenues.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of more than $957 million.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of nearly $1.5 billion.

A bill before the state legislature would create a public infrastructure bank, where municipalities could go to finance projects from affordable housing to bridges.

The BSBY interest rate benchmark was originally envisioned as a successor to the once-ubiquitous Libor rate. But it failed to gain much traction, and Bloomberg now plans to shut it down next year.

Meaningful progress on DEI initiatives has a real effect on the workforce. We examine the dynamics that drive this conclusion and what it means for companies.

The top three bond guarantee programs have an average dollar volume of more than $2.7 billion through the end of June 2023.

The avoidance of one of the harsher economic scenarios is good news for banks, which are also contending with tighter profit margins and increasing competition for customers. But loan growth and credit quality could be at risk.

Texas State Bankshares has agreed to buy Estrada Hinojosa & Co., one of the nation's biggest municipal underwriting and advisory firms.

The bond division undertook two transactions last week to retire outstanding taxable public education capital outlay and state revolving fund bonds. The transactions used $200 million in program funds, along with additional money, to pay down $400 million in state debt.

Transactions announced for the second quarter rose to 20 involving $13.3 billion of revenues from 15 in the first quarter and hit a milestone in more closely resembling pre-COVID-19 mergers and acquisition activity, according to Kaufman Hall's quarterly review.

The fiscal 2024 budget proposal leans on federal funds, better-than-expected tax collections, and a drawdown on reserves to bankroll a wide array of capital work and a boost to state employee salaries.

BJC HealthCare and Saint Luke's Health System signed a letter of intent to form an integrated not-for-profit Missouri-based health system.

The bipartisan legislation offers hopes for other municipal bond industry priorities.

Senior Bank of America investment banker Jill Schwartz discusses her own board roles, how women can serve on nonprofit boards, and how they can drive change, in conversation with Chana Schoenberger, American Banker's Editor-in-Chief.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams says there is no evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has ended the era of very low interest rates experienced before the crisis, although growth may be slower in the long run.

The Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service has suspended the sales of State and Local Government Series securities in efforts to avoid defaulting on the debt limit.

First Republic Bank was shuttered by regulators early Monday, and all its deposits and most of its assets were acquired by JPMorgan. San Francisco-based First Republic was undone by low-rate mortgages it made to its wealthy customers as well as by the fallout from last month's banking crisis.

Several Midwest hospital mergers that are in the works will contribute to the 2023 numbers while one announced in 2022 just closed.