State of Connecticut Municipal SWAP Case Study An Analysis and Recommendation of Synthetic Fixed Rate Derivatives State of Connecticut Municipal Swap Case Study: An Analysis and Recommendation of Synthetic Fixed Rate Derivatives Dear Mr. Benson R. Cohn, We, the State of Connecticut, have typically financed the long-term capital needs of the State through tax-deductible General Obligation bonds. This allowed us to achieve a lower costof-debt than similar taxable bonds. In stark contrast to the fixed-rate long-term debt financing, short term municipal financing for our State was often achieved through innovative methods developed by Wall Street. These new funding options, commonly referred to as Variable-Rate Demand Obligations (“VRDO’s”), …show more content…
Even though these products are issued as long-term securities, they have many of the same features as traditional short-term ones. These debt products are both callable and puttable which gives the issuer as well as the investor flexibility. The call feature allows the issuer to buy back the bond. For issuers who are not sure how long they will need funds, they can get out of the agreement by calling the bond. Same goes for the investor; they can exercise the put option and receive their money back. In order to make these products more liquid, investment banks are used as remarketing agents. These agents resell the bonds at new rates to other investors. However, there is a cap on how high the rates on the bonds can be reissued at in order to limit the coupon payments. These variable rate debts also track the JJ Kenny index. The JJ Kenny index is an index similar to the S&P 500 but for municipal bonds. Also, a synthetic fixed rate debt can be created from combining a variable rate debt and a SWAP. Given the two proposals, the state is faced with three forms of debt. The first form is a fixed rate option that would provide the state with 20 year serial issued bonds with fixed
payments for the duration of the bond and callable after ten years.
The legislation of the state of Arizona is bicameral, with a Senate and a House of Representatives. Each Senator and Representative is elected for a two year term. There is a limitation of four consecutive terms. After serving four terms, they must be out of office for one term before they can be reelected to that office. There are certain qualifications to become a legislator. Those seeking office in the state Senate or House of Representatives must be at least 25 years of age, be a United States citizen, reside in the state for three years prior, and live in the county for one year prior to election. The job of a legislator in Arizona is part time, due to the limited time of the regular session. Their salaries, currently at
Convertible debts are long-term securities which can be converted into issuer 's stock options at a specified conversion ratio, if the debt-holder wants to exercise them. Convertibles include bonds and preferred shares, but most commonly take the form of bonds. Convertible bonds are a type of compound financial instrument with characteristics of both liability and equity.
On February 6, 1788, the state of Massachusetts officially became the 6th state of the United States. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston. Boston is home to 645,966 out of 6,692,824 who live in Massachusetts. Massachusetts also has a very unique flag. Their flag is a blue shield with a gold Native American in the center. This makes since because the name, “Massachusetts” means the word mountain in a Native American language.
During the 1600s when England began colonizing in the New World, different colonies had their own concept of freedom backed by their beliefs and/ or motives for settling in America. Massachusetts and Virginia were settled for very different reasons therefore life in their settlements differed greatly. The political, economic, social and of course physical aspects of the colonies were not at all the same, yet they both resulted in their colonies prospering and successfully settling the land. The settlers of each colony had searched for a place to express two contrasting beliefs of what freedom meant to them. Massachusetts and Virginia are two prime examples of how freedom can mean something
Although this investment class can be considered the most conservative of the three, the low yield of government bonds in the past 10 years does not lend a comparative metric against many other investment opportunities (Jacobs, 2012). The fixed rate of these instruments allows for a guaranteed return, but should only be utilized at a point in an investing cycle when risk is higher than potential income growth. The 25% allocation that is invested in this class is positioned to provide a long term guaranteed investment, with the possible that these lower rates will not rise significantly in the next few years.
1. Briefly explain why many corporations prefer to issue callable long-term corporate bonds rather than noncallable long-term bonds.
Currently, you own all of the stock in Valley Hardware Store Inc., a corporation that operates in Viola, Idaho. Mr. Broker, of Big Investment Company has given you 2 recommendations: the first recommendation is that you should move your investments in Certificates of Deposits(CD’s) to state and municipal bonds; the second recommendation given is that you should take out another mortgage as additional capital to also be converted into Municipal bonds. The purpose of which is to receive a double tax benefit offered by taking advantage of both the interest deductions on the new mortgage allowed under
Family Finance Co. (FFC), a publicly traded commercial bank, invests in a variety of securities in order to enhance returns greater than interest paid on bank deposits and other liabilities. The primary investments of FFC are collateralized debt obligation, mortgage-backed securities, auction-rate securities, equity securities in nonpublic companies, interest rate swaps, and a fuel swap for gasoline. FFC measures the derivative at fair value, presenting the portion of the fair value change by using the fair value hierarchy. This memo will present the appropriate classification in the fair value
As indicated above, the sponsor (MLCS in Merrill’s case) creates a TOB through the combination of a long-term municipal bond and an interest rate swap. The swap functions as a hedge to protect the sponsor against the possibility of short term tax-exempt rates increasing relative to the fixed coupons on the underlying municipal bonds.
The city of New London, in south eastern Connecticut had decades of economic decline. In 1990 a state agency to designate the city a, “distressed municipality.” In 1996 The federal closed the Naval Undersea Warfare Center which employed over 1,500 people. In 1998 the unemployment rate doubled and population was at its lowest since 1920. The state and local officials decided to revitalize the Fort Trumbull area for economic reasons. The New London Development Corporation (NLDC), a private nonprofit entity established years before, was reactivated. In January 1998, the State authorized a $5.35 million bond issue to support the NLDC’s planning activities and a $10 million bond issue toward the creation of a Fort Trumbull State Park. In February
Due to the risky nature of these government bonds, hedge funds are able to acquire them at an extreme discount. The bonds are available for as little as 30 cents to the dollar and with a return as high as 11%. Moreover, Puerto Rico’s bonds are tax exempt and have an average interest rate of 8.74%, thus the total return is closer to 20%. Despite the inherent risk of Puerto Rican bonds, they have become extremely profitable for hedge funds. As stated previously, Puerto Rico is constitutionally bound to prioritize bonds and is unable to declare bankruptcy as a Commonwealth. While the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico seeks to gain bankruptcy coverage from Congress, the hedge funds spend millions of dollars lobbying to block the Commonwealth from having the ability to restructure debt. This standoff brings the island to the brink of an incapacitated government while allowing financial institutions to reap large
Governments around the world issue debt to help finance their general operations, including current expenses such as wages for government employees, and investments in long-term assets such as infrastructure and education. As countries capital markets develop, an increasing number of sovereigns have been able to issue both external debts (denominated in hard currency, often the U.S. dollar) as well as local debt (issued in the sovereign’s own currency).
Municipal bonds are debt securities issued by state or local governments to pay for ongoing products such as roads, schools, and airports. The two types of municipal bonds are general obligation bonds or revenue bonds. General obligation bonds are backed by the taxing power and credit of the government. Revenue bonds are backed by profits from the project for which the bond was issued.
The advantage to choosing a convertible bond for financing is that "they provide issuers with cheap' debt and allow them to sell equity at a premium over current value". Jen, Choi, Lee (1997).
Developed a monthly query to identify loans delivered with the Investor Feature Identifier (IFI HO4) on condos with LTV >75%, saving $1.6M annually in delivery fees incorrectly waived.