August issuance down 23% year-over-year

August municipal bond issuance declined 23% year-over-year, led by a drop in taxable and refunding volumes, as issuers continued to sit on the sidelines amid rising interest rates. Total August volume was $33.651 billion in 618 deals versus $43.885 billion in 1,162 issues a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data. Taxable issuance totaled $6.188 billion in 54 issues, down 27.6% from $8.542 billion in 194 issues a year ago. Tax-exempt issuance was down 26% to $24.547 billion in 555 issues from $33.191 billion in 956 issues in 2021 and alternative-minimum tax issuance rose to $2.916 billion, 35.5%, from $2.152 billion.

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If you missed our statistics supplement it is live on our website and we feature a story on the decline in underwriting spreads.

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Chicago O'Hare International Airport's $1.77 billion sale drew about 39 new investors to the table Tuesday as healthy demand for the upgraded bonds made for a soft landing despite market volatility and a flood of airport bonds this year. With $6.3 billion in orders from 107 investors, the city shaved yields in a repricing that wasn't completed until late Tuesday, given the deal's size and diverse mix of coupons — 4s, a 4.625, 5s, 5.25s and 5.50s — that were designed to appeal to specific buyer interest.

And if you missed any of our ESG Week coverage, make sure to check our ESG special section which has all the articles, the podcast and a taped version of the Leaders event.

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A Texas appeals court on Tuesday dismissed claims in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2017 state law aimed at rescuing Houston's underfunded pension funds. A three-judge panel reversed a 2020 district court ruling in favor of the city's Firefighters' Relief and Retirement Fund, which claimed the law, known as Senate Bill 2190, was unconstitutional.

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Miami-Dade County is looking to a long-term public private partnership to transform a swath of underused county-owned downtown Miami into a high-density new neighborhood complete with a transit terminal, schools and parks. The county floated a draft Request for Proposals two weeks ago outlining potential terms. The MetroCenter redevelopment spans 17 acres and could total $10 billion. The property is located in a Rapid Transit Zone to promote transit-oriented development that is fully controlled by the county.

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Municipals were little changed Wednesday, being cut a basis point or two in spots to close out August. "The tone heading into month end remains mostly unchanged from the post-rate hike/post-Jackson Hole dialogue, with conflicting metrics holding back more momentum as the market wraps up two-thirds of the year," said Kim Olsan, senior vice president of municipal bond trading at FHN Financial.