Rate card returns to the menu at the MSRB

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will issue a request for information on its rate card fee setting process. The rate card request for information will be out in the next couple of weeks, the MSRB said after its first quarterly board meeting of fiscal 2025 Wednesday and Thursday, and will address potential modifications to the model. The rate card process has not been as smooth as market participants had hoped, which is what the MSRB hopes to solve with the next iteration.

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

A California Bay Area school district that recently made waves for failing to pass a budget on time sold $352 million of general obligation bonds last week. The West Contra Costa Unified School District entered the market with a downgrade to its underlying rating, but the deal was bolstered with a Build America Mutual bond insurance wrap that covered most maturities.

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

Record bond volume, a focus on climate, more floating-rate debt and broader integration of municipals into fixed-income markets is on the horizon for the public finance industry. Those are among the factors that will lead to market growth in 2025 and beyond, panelists at this week's Bond Buyer California Public Finance conference said. As interest rates continue to come down, "we will see people reach down the credit scale," said Andy Nakahata, director and head of the Western Region for TD Securities.

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.

Municipals improved Friday after a volatile week for the asset class, ignoring losses in U.S. Treasuries. Investors will see higher yields and ratios along with a nearly $11 billion new-issue slate for the final week of the month and the last ahead of the election. Triple-A yields fell three to seven basis points with the largest gains out long while govies saw losses of four basis points across the curve.

Save the date! The Bond Buyer's National Outlook event returns to New York City on Feb. 6, 2025.

Tom Vales, a muni bond electronic trading expert, has joined Build America Mutual's board as an independent director . The bond insurer has seven board members, including three independent directors. Vales will succeed John White, who is retiring.

Sign up here to receive The Bond Buyer's complete newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily.