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Public Finance Wrap-Up: February 2021

March 2, 2021
Hayden Planetarium, part of the American Museum of Natural History
Photo credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock

Financings in February

New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority (“NYW”)

NYW offered $553 million of new money and refunding bonds in February. The new money bonds included $150 million of bonds sold as “refundable principal installments” maturing in 2027 and 2028, which were priced at an all-in true interest cost of 1.61%. Following a one-day retail order period, the bonds were offered to institutional investors on February 23, receiving over $622 million in orders. Despite a weakening market, investor demand allowed for a $25 million upsizing of the 30-year new money term bond. The $157.3 million refunding portion of the transaction resulted in $69.9 million present value savings or 33.4% of the refunded bonds. Barclays served as book-running lead manager on the transaction.

New York City Transitional Finance Authority (“TFA”)

The TFA successfully sold approximately $1.3 billion of future tax secured subordinate bonds, comprised of nearly $1.0 billion of tax-exempt fixed rate bonds and $300 million of taxable fixed rate bonds. Proceeds from the sale will be used to fund capital projects and to pay the purchase price of certain floating rate debt converted to fixed rate debt.  During the retail order period for the tax-exempt bonds, TFA received $274 million of orders, out of which approximately $238 million was usable. The institutional order period generated approximately $2.3 billion of priority orders, representing 3.0x the bonds offered for sale to institutional investors. Given the strong demand, yields were reduced by 2-5 basis points across various maturities, with final yields ranging from 0.13% for a 5% bond maturing in 2023 to 2.35% for a 2.25% bond maturing in 2051.

The tax-exempt bonds were underwritten through TFA’s underwriting syndicate, led by book-running lead manager Wells Fargo Securities with BofA Securities, Citigroup, Jefferies, J.P. Morgan, Loop Capital Markets, Ramirez & Co., RBC Capital Markets, and Siebert Williams Shank serving as co-senior managers.

TFA also sold $300 million of taxable fixed rate bonds, comprised of two subseries, via competitive bid, with Wells Fargo Securities winning the first subseries, and UBS Financial Services winning the second.

Upcoming Financings

New York City General Obligation Bonds

The City of New York (“the City”) announced the details of its upcoming sale of approximately $1.8 billion of General Obligation bonds, comprised of approximately $1.25 billion of tax-exempt fixed rate bonds, $200 million of taxable fixed rate bonds, $85 million of tax-exempt stepped-coupon bonds, and $260 million of Adjustable Rate Remarketed Securities (“ARRS”). Approximately $1.1 billion of proceeds of the bond sale will be used to fund capital projects and approximately $695 million of bond proceeds will be used to pay the purchase price of existing multimodal bonds converted to other interest rate modes.

Subject to market conditions, pricing for the tax-exempt fixed rate bonds will take place on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, via negotiated sale through an underwriting syndicate led by book-running lead manager BofA Securities, with Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Securities, Jefferies, Loop Capital Markets, Ramirez & Co., RBC Capital Markets, Siebert Williams Shank, and Wells Fargo Securities serving as co-senior managers.

Additionally, the City intends to sell $200 million of taxable fixed rate bonds via competitive bid on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 and approximately $85 million of tax-exempt stepped-coupon bonds via negotiated sale through an underwriting syndicate led by Jefferies, on Thursday, March 4, 2021.

Approximately $260 million of ARRS, to be remarketed by Barclays and BofA Securities, are planned for sale during the week of March 22, 2021.

The Preliminary Official Statement and the Preliminary Reoffering Circular for the tax-exempt and taxable fixed rate bonds are available on munios.com. The Preliminary Reoffering Circular for the tax-exempt stepped-coupon bonds is also now available on munios.com. The Reoffering Circular for the ARRS is expected to be available by March 9, 2021.

For the above-mentioned financing and future financings visit our website.

Comptroller’s Budget Briefing

In February, Comptroller Stringer presented a budget briefing, discussing the challenges and opportunities in the Fiscal Year 2022 Preliminary Budget. For more information, including the full presentation, click here.

Financial Plan and Economic Updates

The Comptroller’s Office continues to provide updated economic and fiscal information in our New York by the Numbers – Weekly Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The Comptroller’s Cash Report and Cash Projection report are also excellent resources. To view both visit the Comptroller’s Cash Report page and Cash Projection page.

Marj Henning
Deputy Comptroller for Public Finance

Postcard from New York
The American Museum of Natural History | Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
Across from beautiful Central Park, you’ll find a huge, yet hidden gem of knowledge and research, for individuals of all ages.
Located directly across the Park, the American Museum of Natural History occupies more than 2 million square feet of space on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. This expansive complex includes more than 25 interconnected buildings comprised of 45 exhibition halls, a planetarium and library. Between plants, animals, minerals, cultural artifacts and specialized collections, the Museum houses more than 34 million specimens – all delicately displayed and cared for by the full-time scientific staff of 225 individuals. Prior to the 2020 pandemic, the museum averaged about five million visitors a year.
The entrance of the Museum displays the statue of Theodore Roosevelt, placed there in 1939 when the Museum was expanded from a smaller building in Central Park. One of the founders of the Museum is Theodore Roosevelt’s father. The museum was officially created in 1969 after a relentless fight by Albert S. Bickmore, a naturalist whose dream was to create a museum. After years of sending proposals and pursuing government officials, his plan was approved by then-Governor Hoffman.
The museum not only serves as a cultural center, but it also houses a research center for its 200-plus scientists and a graduate school awarding doctorate degrees in biology and masters degrees in education.
The museum is currently open to the public by appointment, Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm, with enforced safety and health measures.

Notice and Disclaimer

Under no circumstances shall the information on this website constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Offers to purchase securities may be made only through a registered broker-dealer and through an official statement.

The information contained on this website has been included for general informational purposes only and no person should make any investment decision in reliance upon the information contained herein.

Bonds may not be sold, nor may an offer to buy be accepted, prior to the time an Official Statement is delivered in final form. A definitive Official Statement with respect to any bonds will be made available concurrently with their sale. A Preliminary Official Statement for any bonds may be obtained from the firms listed on the cover of the Preliminary Official Statement and on this website.

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$242 billion
Aug
2022