Should Your Community Bank Buy Private Placement Municipal Bonds?

Over the past few years, the municipal securities market has experienced a growing number of municipal issuers that have met their borrowing needs by going directly to investors to access capital. This practice is commonly referred to as a “private placement.” There are many reasons why an issuer may elect to issue a private placement […]

Should Your Community Bank Buy Private Placement Municipal Bonds?

Over the past few years, the municipal securities market has experienced a growing number of municipal issuers that have met their borrowing needs by going directly to investors to access capital. This practice is commonly referred to as a “private placement.” There are many reasons why an issuer may elect to issue a private placement […]

Federal Reserve to Provide Lending Facility to Municipalities

The Federal Reserve just announced a new Municipal Lending Facility targeted to specific state and local governments. The facility will buy up to $500 billion of short-term notes directly from states and local governments. Only cities with a population of at least one million residents and counties with a population of at least two million […]

COVID-19 Municipal Market Impact

The municipal securities market is going through unprecedented volatility amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial “flight-to-quality” into U.S. Treasuries in early March also included a rally in the municipal sector that drove yields down to all-time lows. The 10yr AAA MMD benchmark index reached just 78 basis points on March 9th. Less than two weeks […]