All Articles Tagged "bond market"
Siebert Brandford Shank Makes Wall Street History
(Black Enterprise) — In 2010, only seven financial services firms underwrote more municipal bond offerings than Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. LLC (No. 3 in taxable securities with $1.8 billion in lead issues, and No. 1 in tax-exempt securities with $7 billion in lead issues on the BE INVESTMENT BANKS list). Coming in at No. 8, SBS becomes the first minority owned firm to rank alongside such global giants as Goldman Sachs and Barclays. The rankings were compiled by The Bond Buyer, a New York City-based trade publication that covers the municipal bond industry.
Black Firm Earns Distinction on Wall Street
(San Francisco Chronicle) — “I’ve been striving for this for 15 years,” said Napoleon Brandford, founder and chairman of Oakland’s Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. It’s the first minority-owned firm of its kind in Wall Street history to be ranked among the top 10 municipal bond underwriters, according to The Bond Buyer, the leading public finance trade publication. Based on numbers compiled by Thomson Reuters, the firm participated in public financings with a total value of $100.9 billion, according to Bond Buyer. Citing its lead manager role in $9.14 billion worth of municipal bonds during 2010, Bond Buyer ranked Siebert Brandford Shank eighth, and “the fastest-growing in the underwriting tables.”
Bondholders Pick a Fight With Banks
(Wall Street Journal) — As banks restart foreclosures they had suspended, bondholders are stepping up efforts to recoup losses on soured mortgage portfolios amid concern about sloppy mortgage servicing and underwriting practices. In a letter Monday, a group of institutional bond investors raised objections to the handling of 115 bond deals issued by affiliates of Countrywide Financial Corp., acquired by Bank of America Corp. in 2008.
Georgia Again Keeps Triple-A Bond Ratings
(Atlanta Business Chronicle) — Georgia has again retained its three triple-A bond ratings from all three rating agencies, Gov. Sonny Perdue’s office reported Monday.
Georgia is one of a few states to maintain the highest bond ratings possible from Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s. Perdue’s office said the rating agencies credited the state’s active management of the budget, including withholding allotments to agencies to ensure expenditures do not exceed revenues.
Bad Bond Rating Could Cost Illinois $551M
(AP) — Illinois taxpayers will have to shell out an extra $551 million to cover the cost of borrowing because of the state’s deteriorating bond rating, according to a new report released Monday.
The Civic Federation of Chicago, a nonpartisan research group, analyzed $9.6 billion in borrowing by Illinois over the last year and compared it to interest being paid by other state and local governments with bond ratings comparable to Illinois’ before its was lowered.
“This is a catastrophe for Illinois,” the group’s president Laurence Msall said because that extra money could have been spent on other needs and services.
Prince George's County Awards $41.5M of Bond Financing
(Citybiz) — The Prince George’s County Economic Development Corp. has earmarked $41.5 million of Federal Recovery Zone Facility Bonds (RZFB) for four projects, slated to create about 3,354 jobs and generate millions in local revenues.
The Treasury department program is part of the economic stimulus package of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Chicago's Bond Rating Cut; Adds Millions to Borrowing Costs
(AP) — A bond rating firm has downgraded Chicago’s bond rating, citing the city’s weakened financial flexibility and reduced tax revenue. Fitch Ratings on Thursday reduced Chicago’s $6.8 billion in outstanding general obligation bonds from AA-plus to AA, which means millions of dollars will be added to the cost of borrowing by the city. The action by Fitch comes as the city faces a record,$654.7 million budget shortfall next year.
Investors Go for Illinois Bonds
(Chicago Breaking News) — Investors demonstrated an appetite for Illinois bonds Wednesday when the state went to market with a $900 million issue, but as expected, they extracted a higher yield because of the state’s dismal financial condition.
More than $2 billion in orders came in for the taxable Build America bond issue, a show of strong demand, said John Sinsheimer, the state’s director of capital markets. Overall, the bonds drew 93 investors, including 17 from overseas who bought about 29 percent of the issue.
“The fact that 17 highly sophisticated international investors made the decision that Illinois credit was worth their investment for the long term . . . is a true statement of their view of the creditworthiness of Illinois,” he said.
Chicago Pays for Selling Bonds Without Bids
(Businessweek) — Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley hired JPMorgan Chase (JPM) investment banker Gene Saffold to be the city’s chief financial officer and gave him a simple order: Protect the taxpayer. “During these tough times, when people are hurting, this is more important than ever,” Daley said in introducing Saffold in March 2009. “We must be creative and bold.”
Despite that mandate, Saffold is sticking with one costly tradition: the city’s more than two-decade practice of selling long-term bonds through private negotiations with banks rather than through open bidding. Arranging competitive auctions for the $2 billion in bonds Chicago has sold since Saffold took the job would have saved taxpayers millions of dollars, according to internal city documents and a review of its sales by Bloomberg.
