Chester, Pennsylvania's Chapter 9 case nears the two-year mark

Chester, Pennsylvania, is broke, its state-appointed receiver says. This fact is not in dispute. Chester is one of the only two municipalities in the country with an active bankruptcy, and is millions of dollars short of its pension obligations. But nearly everything else about the Chester bankruptcy — the causes, the town's obligations, the receiver's proposals — is more complicated.

Municipal finance professionals are preparing for an important election in November. Follow The Bond Buyer's coverage of 2024 election developments.

PNC Bank recently made several new hires, beefing up its banking presence in the west and in Texas. Christopher Roberts joined the firm in August as managing director and head of Western Region & National Public Power/Utilities, and Joey Dierker joined as an associate director. More recent hires include Soledad Mancias and Steve Bassett, who this month will joined PNC as a vice president and municipal bond underwriter, and a director, respectively. “PNC Public Finance is committed to expanding our presence and capabilities from coast-to-coast,” said Robert Dailey, executive vice president and head of public finance.

From politics to disclosure to funding, the changing climate challenges muni issuers. Learn more in our Climate Spotlight 2024 package.

The Department of Transportation announced the winners of $4.2 billion of grants flowing from the Biden administration's infrastructure legislative crown jewel. "Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris administration is carrying out ambitious, complex transportation projects that will shape our country's infrastructure for generations to come," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday. The funding comes through two major discretionary grant programs, the National Infrastructure Project Assistance for "mega" sized projects, and the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program.?

Watch what the municipal bond industry’s innovators and influencers are saying in our Leaders series of video interviews. Check out our lineup of future live interviews and archived conversations.

Though weaker Monday, municipal bonds have outperformed Treasuries in the past few sessions. Demand for munis remains "insatiable," said Daryl Clements, a municipal portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein. This demand has caused munis to outperform USTs and become "relatively more expensive."

There is still time to register for The Bond Buyer’s California Public Finance conference, coming to San Francisco this week.

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