Bonds

It’s boom time in the municipal bond business and many expect the deal momentum to continue past the November election. The year’s issuance record — and the expectation that it will continue — marked a recurring theme among panelists at The Bond Buyer’s infrastructure conference in Philadelphia this week. “It’s been an extraordinary year by

The Internal Revenue Service has been hiring different kinds of workers in its Office of Tax-Exempt Bonds, and bringing on more of them, resulting in more newly started cases, more people on calls to issuers and longer audit times, officials from the TEB office said Wednesday at the National Association of Bond Lawyers annual conference

As extreme weather becomes more common and the federal deficit hits new records, the onus will be on state and local governments to finance the future of resilient infrastructure. The good news is they have plenty of capacity to take on the debt and retail investors are clamoring for the paper. That’s the view of

Florida’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research is warning of new fiscal challenges for the state government in coming years. Without changes to revenue and expenditure policies, the office, a part of Florida’s government, projects a general revenue fund deficit of $9.8 billion by June 30, 2028, the official Long-Range Financial Outlook released Sept. 6

The University of the Arts, a private college in Philadelphia that abruptly closed its doors in June, filed for bankruptcy Friday, two weeks after it faced a demand by its bondholders for immediate repayment of more than $50 million in debt.  The school listed assets and liabilities of $50 million to $100 million, in a

The Empire State Development Corp. is set to sell $335.7 million of state sales tax revenue bonds on Thursday. The competitive deal is the only sizable offering from a New York state issuer on this week’s calendar, a contrast to the billion-dollar deals the state’s issuers have sold in recent months.  It was a week

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s $6.3 billion budget, the first of her tenure signed into law in the summer, represents her administration’s commitment to making Philadelphia “the safest, cleanest, greenest big city in the nation, with access to economic opportunity for all.” Parker, who became Philadelphia’s 100th mayor and the first woman to hold the position

Municipals were steady Wednesday ignoring the volatility in U.S. Treasuries and equities, which whipsawed following the Federal Reserve’s 50-basis point rate cut, before both closing the session weaker. Municipal triple-A yields were little changed while USTs closed the session weaker by to eight basis points out long. For municipals, Wednesday “marks a crucial step forward,

On Tuesday, former President Trump announced support for lifting the cap on the State and Local Tax deduction, a move which has wide support from municipal bond issuers.  Trump made the announcement via his Truth Social network as part of a personal post saying, “I will turn it around, get SALT back, lower your taxes,

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Municipal Securities director Dave Sanchez has a warning for advisors working on municipal market-adjacent deals like public-private partnerships or workforce housing: we’re watching you. Issuers, though not responsible for their municipal advisors, should be proactive in ensuring the firms are playing by the rules, said Sanchez, speaking Tuesday

A Major League Soccer stadium in Frisco, Texas, will undergo bond-financed renovations under an agreement approved Tuesday by the city council.  The Frisco Community Development Corp. will issue up to $182 million of sales tax revenue bonds for the Toyota Stadium project, which must commence by Dec. 31, 2025, and be completed by the end

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Pershing, a subsidiary of the Bank of New York, $42,000 for failing to include the non-transaction-based compensation indicator on 23,000 municipal securities transactions, violating Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Rules G-14 on customer transaction reporting and G-27 on supervision. Pershing also violated FINRA Rules 6730, 3110 and 2010, consented

“I love seeing the results of what I am working on, like when a bridge or a school gets built. It’s very rewarding,” said Charlebois. Title: Of CounselFirm: Ballard Spahr LLPAge: 39 Michael Charlebois, an attorney in Ballard Spahr’s national finance department, focuses his work on bond financings for nonprofit organizations, such as charter and

“My greatest career accomplishment is working for the state and helping bring forward the story of its improving financial trajectory under the current administration. We have achieved nine credit upgrades so far,” said Chevalier. Title: Deputy Debt ManagerFirm: State of IllinoisAge: 39 Elizabeth Chevalier began her career in 2006 as an intern at Scott Balice

“I had some really good mentors that really helped propel my career,” Gellert said. “To pass that along really means a lot to me.” Title: Senior Vice PresidentFirm: Loop Capital MarketsAge: 33 During his 11 years at Loop Capital Markets, David Gellert has become the in-house expert on tender offers, putting him in the middle

“As one of two model officers, Pat was instrumental in authoring the new criteria and presenting it for approval,” said Arlene Bohner, head of U.S. Public Finance at Fitch. Title: Director, U.S. Public FinanceFirm: Fitch RatingsAge: 28 The need for capital in the municipal market first resonated for Patrick Goggins during a summer internship at

“Hearing how these institutions issue debt to meet the needs for students was very interesting to me,” said Gupta. Title: Associate DirectorFirm: S&P Global RatingsAge: 32 When she first “fell into” the municipal market as an analyst at S&P Global Ratings, Gauri Gupta was impressed by the size and scope of the industry and intrigued

“My role as assistant city treasurer exposed me to the best bankers, attorneys and advisors across the country,” said Keola Harrington. Title: CFOFirm: Philadelphia Parking AuthorityAge: 36 As chief financial officer of the Philadelphia Parking Authority, Keola Harrington oversees all financial operations, including finance, accounting, revenue, payroll, procurement and risk management of a $300 million

“When we get it right, it gets more money back to the schools and communities we all live in. If you can save them some money, it can mean available funds to hire another teacher or fire fighter. When we do our best work, we make people’s lives better,” Jennifer Arndt said. Title: DirectorFirm: Masterson AdvisorsAge: 39

“I worked on climate resilient infrastructure and I worked on projects all over the world. Then the pandemic happened,” recalled Bain. Title: Director of Strategy, Treasury, Office of the CFOFirm: City of DetroitAge: 31 While studying comparative literature at the University of Michigan, Kevin Bain met an adjunct professor who worked at the World Bank.

“The special thing about BAM is having access to people like Martin [Arrick] and [CEO] Seán McCarthy from a really young age,” Calabrese said. Title: Vice President, Public FinanceFirm: Build America MutualAge: 30 Gia Calabrese is credited with spearheading dramatic growth in Build America Mutual’s insured healthcare portfolio over the past two years, the latest