Munis

U.S. regulators' swift action in March to ring-fence the banking sector after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank might have had an unintended consequence of driving cash out of bond funds by enhancing the appeal of deposits, two New York Fed researchers say.

Proceeds from the social bond issue will go to support high-performing public charter schools across the United States and promote educational equity.

The IRS concluded the examination of an advance refunding of capital improvement funds with no change to the bonds' tax-exempt status.

Recommendations from an actuary on the city's police and fire pensions come amid a rising unfunded liability and uncertainty over the use of pension bonds.

The retirement proposal also attempts to clarify the definition of riskless transactions, which are common in the muni market.

The process of turning the data into a usable form takes time and can be compounded by the difficulty of extracting what data there is and the format used by issuers in documents, like official statements, disclosures and other financials.

The projects range from airports to ports and transit-oriented development.

The municipal market is bifurcated, opaque, and can be a challenge to price even on a steady day. In this idiosyncratic market, especially in times of volatility, data-driven decision-making is key, whether pricing a new deal in the primary market or trading it in the secondary. Learn more.

Villanova University in Pennsylvania is rescuing bondholders who own debt of Cabrini University, a small nearby Catholic school that is closing in 2024.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of more than $1 billion.

Municipal Market Analytics noted the current size of the outstanding TOB market — at about $50 billion from highs of nearly $500 billion before the Financial Crisis — reflects a reduced credit concentration risk and lower overall leverage.

The constitutional amendment removes a special debt limit placed on small city school districts; now they will be treated the same as other school districts.

Teacher shortages and enrollment declines due to growing charter and private schools are two of the problems affecting school financing.

Washington will auction $483 million in two tranches on Tuesday.

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

"The big question is: who's next? I don't think UBS is the end," said a veteran sellside market participant.

Nevada state officials have partnered with two companies that specialize in working with charter schools to create a $100 million revolving loan fund to build schools and refund existing high-interest debt.

While some reliable options have emerged, market professionals remain hopeful the old advance refunding will return before the desire to bring it back loses any momentum.

The deal has new-money and refunding components and is expected to hit the market in a negotiated sale the week of Nov. 13.

The data indicates that 2023 could be "the potential start of a long-feared trend toward more higher ed impairments and, possibly, defaults," MMA's weekly Outlook report said.