Mike Sudsina – Sudsina & Associates, LLC | Registered Municipality Advisors

Should I sell my debt competitively?

Mike Sudsina on April 1, 2020

A competitive sale is a method of selling bonds where the Issuer offers a debt issue for sale at a specific date and time and awards the bonds to the bidder with the lowest True Interest Cost (TIC). The prime benefit of this method of sale is that it results in the best interest rate available from the entire market by allowing all eligible underwriters the opportunity to bid on the bonds. Because different bond underwriters have varying, and evolving views of future interest rates and economic conditions, a competitive sale typically results in bids that can be as close as 0.01% from the winner to second-place, and often with spreads of over 1.00% to the last place bids.

Article originally published in the Ohio GFOA April 2020 Newsletter

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Is It Finally Time to Sell My Debt Competitively?

Mike Sudsina on August 22, 2019

Best practices for public sector procurement typically require some sort of competitive bidding process for basic goods and services. So why is it that one of the largest expenditures a school district makes other than payroll, namely interest on debt, is typically acquired with little or no competition? Interest rates are one of the most simplistic commodities out there, yet schools usually sell their debt (aka buy interest rates) through negotiated arrangements with bankers with little or no competition added to the process.

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Seek Maximum Flexibility with Your Next Bond Issue

Mike Sudsina on August 22, 2019

So, what can you do to ensure reasonable flexibility to refund your next bond issue now that the federal government has eliminated your one chance to advance refund before the call date? How about a shorter call date?

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When it Comes to Pricing Your Bonds, You’ll Need Help

Mike Sudsina on April 30, 2016

For those in the process of preparing bond issues – Either for new projects or to refund prior bond issues for savings – once all the preparation is completed, there will undoubtedly be a big sigh of relief knowing all the work is done. Well, hold on. The most important part is yet to come.

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How New SEC Regulations Will Impact Your Next Bond Issue

Mike Sudsina on April 30, 2014

In September 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission finalized its municipal advisor (MA) definition in accordance with requirements dictated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

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Financial Market Regulatory Changes: Likely to Impact the Way Ohio Schools Issue Debt

Mike Sudsina on April 30, 2012

As most of us know, in the wake of the financial meltdown of 2008, Congress has undertaken an effort to reform the financial markets through regulatory changes intended to guard against a variety of abuses that allegedly contributed to the hard financial times we are currently living through.