National Outlook 2022: Opening Remarks

Michael Ballinger, Publisher The Bond Buyer, The Bond Buyer; Jay Redd, Managing Director, Head of Infrastructure Finance, Public Finance, UBS Global Wealth Management; Kevin Murphy, Partner, Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLPVideo link for reference:

Transcription:

00:00:07:14 - 00:00:33:08
Michael Ballinger

Good morning. I'm Mike Ballinger, publisher of The Bond Buyer. It's my pleasure to welcome you to our eighth annual National Outlook Conference. I'm thrilled that we're able to host this conference as a live event by moving it to March. And it's great to see so many familiar faces in the audience. In previous years, I used to stress out about potential snowstorms impacting this conference as Howard Zucker is well aware, But COVID is certainly at another level of anxiety as we were forced to go virtual last year.

00:00:33:08 - 00:00:55:06
Michael Ballinger

And we'd have probably gone virtual again if we did it in January, I'm so glad that things are getting back to normal and that we're able to host this event again in person. And there was no major snowstorm. This conference will address key issues and trends will impact the municipal bond market in 2022. Conference will provide insight for market participants on such topic as the macro view of our country's infrastructure needs.

00:00:55:26 - 00:01:27:22
Michael Ballinger

ESG integration into the muni market, the new credit landscape, municipal data and technology developments, and the buy side’s perspective for the year We're particularly delighted to have Shawn Wood, Treasurer of the State of Connecticut, and Brad Lander, Comptroller of the City of New York, as our keynote speakers. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors for the conference, especially our conference co-chairs, Kevin Murphy of Hawkins DelaField and Wood and Jay Redd of UBS I also acknowledge a few Bond Buyer employees for outstanding work in this conference.

00:01:28:07 - 00:01:53:23
Michael Ballinger

Our program manager Alma Subasic and our innovation editor Lynn Funk, who are responsible for developing such an excellent agenda. Also like to thank Jasmine, John, Nina Molla, Dan Hoskins, Ryan Fellows and Richard Percival, who have had all the marketing and logistics for this conference. Please join me a round of applause for their efforts. Mike Scarchilli, editor in chief and the members of the New York news

00:01:54:06 - 00:02:11:13
Michael Ballinger

team will be at the conference during the day. So I urge you to reach out to them during the course of the conference. Kick off the conference. It's my pleasure to introduce our conference co-chairs. Jay Reed is managing director and head of Infrastructure Finance at UBS Jay has over 25 years of municipal investment banking and advisory experience.

00:02:12:00 - 00:02:34:13
Michael Ballinger

He's also served as head of business development for a private equity firm that focus on monetizing issuer assets via the P3 model. Prior to joining UBS, they found themselves as a firm that served clients in the Northeast for six years. Jay is executed over 50 billion in bond swaps, release financing and municipal advisor transactions. Kevin Murphy is partner of Hawkins, Delafield and Wood.

00:02:35:01 - 00:03:00:28
Michael Ballinger

He serves as bond counsel disclosure counsel, underwriters counsel on a variety of revenue financings with particular focus on issuers in New York state and state and local financing agencies. Kevin is a resident in Hawkins' New York office is a member of the firm's management committee. Prior to joining Hawkins, he served in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the General Counsel He's a member of the National Association of Lawyers and a member of the Board of Governors of the municipal forum in New York.

00:03:01:11 - 00:03:03:16
Michael Ballinger

Please join me in a warm welcome for Kevin Murphy.

00:03:06:00 - 00:03:32:05
Kevin Murphy

Thanks, Michael. So on behalf of Hawkins Delafield and Wood I would like to welcome everybody to Bond Buyer’s 2022 National Outlook Conference The bond buyer has put together a great lineup today. In addition to our two esteemed keynote speakers, we have an all star cast. The panelists for you and looks like also an all star audience. So I'm looking forward to some good questions for our panelists.

00:03:32:26 - 00:04:02:01
Kevin Murphy

So today, two years from the day that New York reported its first case of COVID 19. Since then, our industry has worked through the initial market disruptions that spring figured out how to assess and disclose the effects of the pandemic on our issuers. Had a banner year in volume and then an almost as good year With low interest rates, even without tax exempt advance fundings, we brought focus to environmental, social and governance considerations.

00:04:02:24 - 00:04:34:29
Kevin Murphy

Saw a major commitment of future federal investment in infrastructure. And we'll be talking about some of those topics and developments today and also talking about looking forward into a new interest rate environment. And also, while we all witnessed the tragic events of the past week, we're also dealing in real time, trying to grapple with the short term disruption and possible long term effects in our industry.

00:04:36:13 - 00:05:01:13
Kevin Murphy

Looking at everyone here, turnout, I'm encouraged that so many of you here are here to share your perspectives and learn from each other in an effort to do your best possible work for your organizations and your organization's clients and their constituents. And taxpayers in the year ahead. So thank you all for coming. Thanks, Michael and everyone at Bonfire for putting together a great conference.

00:05:01:24 - 00:05:08:15
Kevin Murphy

And thanks to your co-chair, Jay Redd. We'll turn it over. 

00:05:08:24 - 00:05:26:01
Jay Redd

Thank you Michael and Kevin, for your comments. Pleasure to be with everyone this morning, especially in person. It's been a long two years for all of us. And hopefully that light at the end of the tunnel is soon to be realized. My charge this morning is to introduce our keynote speaker, the Honorable Shawn Wooden, treasurer for the state of Connecticut.

00:05:26:18 - 00:05:57:19
Jay Redd

And in the spirit of maintaining our place in our agenda. I will move right into his introduction. Shawn Wooden was sworn in as Connecticut state treasurer on January 9th, 2019 following his successful 21 year career as an investment attorney and public service as city council president of Hartford. He is currently president of the National Association of State Treasurers the bipartisan organization of State Treasurers and public finance officials across the United States and the nation's foremost authority for responsible state treasury programs and related financial practices, policies and education.

00:05:58:04 - 00:06:37:23
Jay Redd

He graduated from Trinity College and NYU Law School before moving back to his hometown of Hartford, Connecticut, to begin his legal career. At De Pitney LLP, where he would go on to become a partner and leader of the public pension plan investment practice. Treasurer wooden is the sole trustee of the $47 billion Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds administers a $26 billion debt management program and manages over 259 billion annual cash transactions he has a seat on 25 quasi governmental authorities, boards and commissions related to housing, finance, student loans, air and water sports, venture capital, lottery private sector retirement security and other key policy areas.

00:06:39:02 - 00:07:02:20
Jay Redd

Treasurer Wooden has also contributed many of Connecticut's historical fiscal achievements during his tenure, including restructuring the teachers pension fund to ensure long term sustainability, protecting the growth of the state's rainy day fund to historic highs, securing major credit upgrades for the first time in over two decades, paying down the state's long term unfunded pension liabilities on a accelerated basis and significantly exceeding the retirement system's benchmark performance.

00:07:02:20 - 00:07:37:25
Jay Redd

Double digit investment returns. These unprecedented fiscal achievements have saved millions in taxpayer dollars Connecticut is now on a sustainable financial path. Treasurer Wooden has also been a leading voice for closing the wealth gap improving financial literacy, reducing gun violence, protecting workers and advocates of diversity, equity and inclusion in the financial services industry. Treasurer Wooden has been recognized as Connecticut's super lawyer for securities and corporate finance ventures and investments named in one of the 25 investment professionals to watch.

00:07:37:26 - 00:07:47:15
Jay Redd

And finally, Savoy Magazine identified him as one of the most influential black lawyers in the country. So please join me in giving a warm welcome to our keynote speaker, the honorable Shawn wooden.