Connecticut Quandary

In the latest installment of Muni Minute – The Bond Buyer's 60-second video series – we focus on Connecticut’s planned $650 million general obligation bond sale amid its own budgetary stress and the struggles of capital city Hartford, which could run out of money by year’s end.

VOICE OVER: Connecticut expects to come to market this week with a $650 million general obligation sale that will include $65 million in green bonds to benefit priority clean-water projects. Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley are co-bookrunning managers. The sale comes as Connecticut, despite its high per capita wealth struggles with budget imbalance, weak reserves, and a lagging economy.

Bond rating agencies have called out Connecticut for its high debt and unfunded pension liabilities in relation to its resources and they say that the state is ill-equipped to handle the next downturn. Additionally, state capital
Hartford may run out of cash by the end of the year. S&P and Moody’s have stung the city with four-notch downgrades over the past month. The first-year Mayor Luke Bronin has called for help from the region and state. With the bond buyer for continuing harvage of Connecticut’s bond sale and budget battles and the heart for debt crisis.

I’m Paul Burton. This is your Muni Minute.