Primary bond market

Despite a muted month of March due to the COVID-19 pandemic which included two weeks of no negotiated deals, muni bond issuers still sold more long-term debt than they did during the first three months of 2019. Issuers accounted for a total of $84.87 billion of bonds throughout 2,119 transactions, compared to $75.84 billion in 1,809 deals in first quarter of 2019. The top 10 features five newcomers from a year ago, including the top spot.

Underwriters of municipal bonds did the majority of business during the first two months of the year, before COVID-19 swept the country with sickness and severe spreading. The top underwriters accounted for $87.84 billion of bonds throughout 2,119 transactions, compared to $75.84 billion in 1,809 deals in first quarter of 2019.

Tax-exempt and taxable deals priced as dealers opened up their balance sheets to new issues while the market still awaits word from the Fed on coronavirus-led purchase programs.

Municipal market participants are confused, to say the least, about the Federal Reserve and its ability to buy long-term municipal securities. And there’s a good reason for the puzzlement.

With Fed purchases on short end, more deals are showing up on the calendar and this week may become the testing ground for reopening the primary as participants gauge volatility and rates.

The corporate bond business appears to enjoy greater liquidity than tax-exempts, said Lee Deviney, executive director of the Texas Public Finance Authority.

The coronavirus has ravaged nerves worldwide and spread its gloom into the financial sector. The U.S. municipal bond market is slipping into park from neutral as most issuers and underwriters await a better day.

There will be more queasiness ahead of any calm in municipals as adjustments to the coronavirus-induced climate continue to test the market’s resolve.

The bond-financed $420 million expansion project moved forward over the objections of board members who questioned the timing amid plummeting tax revenues.

Milwaukee's experience in market Thursday speaks to the struggles of primary market borrowers navigating COVID-19-driven turmoil.

Forced selling continues and credit spreads are widening as much as 200 basis points in spots making for a large bid-ask disconnect in the market.

The Louisiana State Bond Commission authorized four bond issues, and was updated on market volatility created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most of the disclosures tracked since the beginning of the year were filed in March, the MSRB said.

Coronavirus-led fears are leading investors, particularly retail, to cash once again amid uncertainty surrounding how much and what maturities of municipal bonds the Fed will purchase once its program begins.

To help state and local governments after the COVID-19 pandemic, Cumberland Advisors is proposing a new municipal security.

The primary market remained mostly on the sidelines with issuers slow to jump back into coronavirus-driven volatility while also awaiting Fed engagement.

The city, smarting from two new negative rating outlooks, says it can change the competitive deal's timing or reject bids if the market turns against it.

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.

A more measured tone settled in on Monday as new deals begin to price in a coronavirus-weary marketplace. Municipal credit is beginning to come into focus.

Actions by the Fed and the passage of the CARES Act have served to calm the markets to a large degree during the recent choppiness. These actions will ease the way for some deals to come to market this week.