Munis little changed; Bellevue brings $70.4 million bonds; Buffalo City School District prices

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, April 16 - Municipal bonds were mostly unchanged to round out Tuesday's market activity.

Retail order periods were held for several of the week's larger offerings. Trading action was fairly light, and investors paid the most attention to new issues hitting the market, said traders.

Elsewhere in the market, the New York State Thruway is reportedly finalizing a financing plan for its new Tappan Zee Bridge, a project that will cost about $4 billion, said Alan Schankel, managing director with Janney Montgomery Scott LLC.

"About $1.5 billion will come from a federal Transportation Finance and Innovation Act loan, with most of the remaining costs paid for through issuance of municipal bonds secured by thruway system revenues," Schankel wrote Tuesday.

"The bridge's northbound lanes are scheduled to be completed and open by September 2016, with the entire bridge completed in 2018."

Bellevue offers G.O. bonds

Looking to Tuesday's competitive pricing action, the City of Bellevue, Wash., sold $70,405,000 of series 2013 limited tax general obligation bonds, said a pricing sheet.

U.S. Bancorp Investments Inc. won the competitive bid for the bonds (Aa1) at a 2.71% true interest cost, said Jan Hawn, the city's finance director.

The bonds are due 2013 to 2037 with 2% to 5% coupons.

"According to the city's debt policy, we generally issue debt through a competitive process, but we may use a negotiated process if a bond issue is dependent on market/interest [rate] timing; at the time of issuance, the interest rate environment or economic factors that affect bonds are volatile; the nature of the debt is unique and requires particular skills from the underwriter involved; or the debt issued is bound by a compressed timeline due to extenuating circumstances such that time is of the essence and a competitive process cannot be accomplished," Hawn said in an interview Tuesday.

Proceeds will be used to construct, repair, acquire and equip streets, sidewalks and other capital improvements as part of the city's capital improvement program plan.

Erie IDA brings school bonds

Elsewhere during the session, the Erie County Industrial Development Authority of New York sold $62.54 million of series 2013A school facility refunding revenue bonds for the Buffalo City School District, said a pricing sheet.

The bonds (Aa3/AA-/) were sold through Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Ramirez & Co. Inc.

The bonds are due 2014 and 2017 to 2027 with 3% to 5% serial coupons. The 2014 bonds have a 2% coupon and priced at 101.775.

Proceeds will be used to refund the authority's series 2009A school facility revenue bonds.

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