In the second part of our series on city credit quality, the spotlight shifts to the Achilles heel for many cities: public pensions. by Richard A. Ciccarone Governmental credit quality is a byproduct of both the underlying economy and the cumulative...
Municipal Bankruptcy
Lessons Learned from the Detroit Bankruptcy
by James Spiotto In July of 2013, Detroit was the first city that was the largest city in the state to seek protection under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code for municipal debt adjustment. Previously, Chapter 9 had been a remedy used rarely by any city, town, village...
A Historic Muni Bankruptcy Comes To a Close … For Now
Market Outlook The bond market was looking for bad news this week and found it in the minutes of the FOMC, released on Wednesday. Apparently, tapering has remained on the table, which really shouldn’t surprise anyone. However, the Committee did leave the door open for...
San Bernardino Bankruptcy Returns to Muni Headlines
As the municipal market continues to digest - and decipher the implications of - Detroit’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing, San Bernardino has been awarded bankruptcy protection by a federal judge. The ruling comes a little over a year after San Bernardino filed an...
Detroit Takes the Municipal Bankruptcy Plunge
Updated July 23, 2013 - Detroit has been known for many things over the years ... cars, music, and now municipal bankruptcy. On July 18, the City of Detroit became the largest city to file for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy protection. James Spiotto, a...
Detroit Continues to Grapple with Prospect of Municipal Bankruptcy
(Updated June 21, 2013) “Today’s a big day for Detroit creditors as they’re scheduled to meet with and presumably get the bad news from Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr,” said Triet Nguyen, in his Muni Bond Insights column, The Muni Market at a Crossroads, dated June 14,...
Update: Stockton Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Approved
(Updated - 4/3/13) In June, Stockton California became the largest U.S. city to file for municipal bankruptcy protection. (See Stockton: From Fiscal Distress to Municipal Bankruptcy. ) On April 1, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein ruled...
Stockton: From Fiscal Distress to Municipal Bankruptcy
Stockton was referred to as the “fiscally distressed municipality du jour” back in March, when MuniNetGuide.com featured an interview with Tim Maniccia, entitled, The Fork in the Road: How a Local Government’s Approach to Fiscal Distress Can Determine its Financial...
Jefferson County Bankruptcy Resource Guide
Jefferson County, Alabama’s financial woes thrust the county into national headlines last week. On November 9, the County officially filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, marking the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in history. As such - and perhaps because it...
Debate Over Restructuring Muni Ratings System Continues
While proponents of a radical change in the municipal ratings system would like to see imminent change, others caution against acting in haste.