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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 17 June 2024

Earl D. Benson and Barry R. Marks

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) substantially lowered the corporate tax rate, making tax-exempt municipal bond issues less attractive investments for banks, savings and…

Abstract

Purpose

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) substantially lowered the corporate tax rate, making tax-exempt municipal bond issues less attractive investments for banks, savings and loan associations and insurance companies. To provide a benefit for small issuers the current Internal Revenue Code has a special provision that allows banks and S&Ls to deduct 80% of the borrowing costs for “bank-qualified” bonds – tax-exempt bonds from issuers who issue no more than $10 million in bonds during a year. This study examines whether the relationship between the true interest cost (TIC) on bank-qualified bonds and other tax-exempt bonds changed with the passage of the TCJA.

Design/methodology/approach

Using linear regression analysis this paper compares the TIC of bank-qualified bonds with the TIC of bonds not bank-qualified using a sample of bonds both before and after the passage of TCJA.

Findings

Prior to the passage of the TCJA, this study observes that these “bank-qualified” bond issues had a lower true interest cost than other tax-exempt bond issues; however, after passage of the TCJA, the difference in the true interest cost between “bank-qualified” bond issues and other tax-exempt bond issues dramatically decreased.

Practical implications

It appears that the benefit for small bond issuers is greatly reduced after corporate tax rates were significantly lowered. If federal lawmakers wish small issuers to have the same advantage over other tax-exempt municipal bond issuers after passage of TCJA, some changes will need to be made to the Internal Revenue Code to give small issuers an additional advantage when issuing tax-exempt debt.

Originality/value

No other empirical research to date has examined the impact of TCJA on bank-qualified bond issue interest cost.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2024

Komla D. Dzigbede

This paper aims to measure the trade price impact of a recent regulatory disclosure intervention in municipal securities secondary markets, which required broker-dealers to…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to measure the trade price impact of a recent regulatory disclosure intervention in municipal securities secondary markets, which required broker-dealers to disclose securities trading information on a near-real-time and continuing basis.

Design/methodology/approach

The author analyzes trade price outcomes in the preintervention and postintervention regimes using a suite of time series estimations that give heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors (Prais–Winsten and Cochrain–Orcutt), accommodate higher-order lag structure in the error term (autoregressive integrated moving average) and account for volatility clustering in the time series (generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity).

Findings

Results show that regulatory disclosure intervention significantly improved trade price efficiency in municipal securities secondary markets as daily trade price differential and volatility both declined market-wide after the disclosure intervention.

Research limitations/implications

The sample consists of trades in State of California general obligation bonds; therefore, empirical findings may not be generalizable to other states, local governments and different types of bonds.

Practical implications

The findings highlight voluntary information disclosure as a practical and effective mechanism in disclosure regulation of municipal securities secondary markets.

Originality/value

Only a small body of work exists that examines information disclosure regulation in municipal securities secondary markets; therefore, this paper expands knowledge on the topic and should provide renewed impetus for regulatory efforts aimed at improving the efficiency of municipal capital markets.

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2020

Darko B. Vukovic, Moinak Maiti, Dmitry Kochetkov and Alexander Bystryakov

This paper study regional attractiveness through passive portfolio investment based on duration, immunization and convexity (in case of higher interest rate volatility) of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper study regional attractiveness through passive portfolio investment based on duration, immunization and convexity (in case of higher interest rate volatility) of municipal bonds by using data from Standard and Poor’s. The massive variety of financial incentives to promote regional investment attractiveness is dependent on governmental strategy. Municipal bonds are the one of the most efficient ways of direct investments in the region, however, it is still a question of a good balance between a certain rate of return and an adequate risk. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the investment opportunities in municipal revenue bonds.

Design/methodology/approach

This study developed a model of investing using municipal bonds with the case of their immunization and analyze attractiveness of such investment. The theoretical model assumes a situation where the local government finances its capital projects through municipal revenue bonds. Such situations influence strongly on regional or local competitiveness provided by local government policy.

Findings

An analysis of the municipal bond market indicates that both municipal general and revenue bonds had stable and good level of yields to maturity in the past ten years. Their standard deviations were very low and in the past two years almost approached the level of standard deviations of treasury bonds. With the duration of 4–6 years on 5-year investment in municipal revenue bonds and their immunization, it is possible to provide good returns for investor.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study concerns theoretical situation where local government will use non-market-based policy to reduce the interest rates and that will influence on rise of municipal bond liquidity premium (price distortion). This situation will make municipality bonds less attractive for investing, especially because of lower liquidity on secondary market. Also, this model is applicable in regions that have developed financial markets.

Practical implications

This research suggests governments a sustainable framework to use municipal bonds as a strategy for capital targeting in regions.

Social implications

This research is related to professional investors’ strategy with projects that have the highest investment potential; this is good way for an adequate allocation of resources (regional competitiveness).

Originality/value

This paper analyzes very rare subject involving local government strategy of finance and portfolio investment in municipal bonds. There is a huge gap in the literature on this issue. Also, this study provides the model that can be used as a case for higher local competitiveness.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. 31 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2010

Paul L. Solano

A recent study found state bond bank participants continually realize considerable interest cost savings. Savings were calculated as differences in interest costs of bond bank…

Abstract

A recent study found state bond bank participants continually realize considerable interest cost savings. Savings were calculated as differences in interest costs of bond bank loans and the bond offerings participants would have sold as alternatives to loans, (alternative market offerings). The present evaluation determines the sources of the savings. Savings are generated by not only differences in issue characteristics of bond bank issues and alternative market offerings, but also differential impacts of the same market forces and institutional factors on the interest costs of both types of sales. These findings verify that bond bank issues and alternative market offerings sell in different sub-markets, and confirm municipal bond market segmentation.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2013

Helisse Levine and Paul Greaves

The Obama Administration has proposed reinstatement of the BABs program created as part of the 2009 ARRA legislation to put state and local governments on a fiscally sustainable…

Abstract

The Obama Administration has proposed reinstatement of the BABs program created as part of the 2009 ARRA legislation to put state and local governments on a fiscally sustainable path by supplementing their capacity to access the bond market. However, it is cost prohibitive to issue BABs and purchase municipal bond insurance. The research questions raised in this study are specific to the lower rated municipalities: 1) did they experience an increase in issuance during the BABs program and 2) what is the effect of BABs on the re-emergence of municipal bond insurance in facilitating access to the capital markets? G.O. debt issuance for years 2001-2011 and BABs data provided by Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters are used to develop a comparative analysis. Results suggest 1) highly rated issuers significantly benefitted and 2) G.O. insured debt issued during the BABs program was down 30% for lower rated issuers when compared to the pre-BABs period.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2013

John F. Sacco and Gerard R. Busheé

This paper analyzes the impact of economic downturns on the revenue and expense sides of city financing for the period 2003 to 2009 using a convenience sample of the audited end…

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of economic downturns on the revenue and expense sides of city financing for the period 2003 to 2009 using a convenience sample of the audited end of year financial reports for thirty midsized US cities. The analysis focuses on whether and how quickly and how extensively revenue and spending directions from past years are altered by recessions. A seven year series of Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) data serves to explore whether citiesʼ revenues and spending, especially the traditional property tax and core functions such as public safety and infrastructure withstood the brief 2001 and the persistent 2007 recessions? The findings point to consumption (spending) over stability (revenue minus expense) for the recession of 2007, particularly in 2008 and 2009.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Article
Publication date: 19 March 2024

Benny Hutahayan, Mohamad Fadli, Satria Amiputra Amimakmur and Reka Dewantara

This study aims to analyze the causes and implications of legal uncertainty in the issuance of conventional municipal bonds in Indonesia and to draw lessons from Vietnam’s…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the causes and implications of legal uncertainty in the issuance of conventional municipal bonds in Indonesia and to draw lessons from Vietnam’s approach in providing better legal certainty.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a normative legal method with a legislative approach and applies a comparative approach. Data sources involve primary and secondary legal materials from both Indonesia and Vietnam.

Findings

The legal uncertainty is caused by a lack of coherence and consistency in legislation. Based on Vietnam’s experience, Indonesia can gain valuable insights related to providing strong legal certainty for parties involved in issuing or investing through conventional municipal bonds.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses on the comparative legal analysis of conventional municipal bonds in Indonesia with Vietnam.

Practical implications

This research provides recommendations for the refinement of legislation regarding conventional municipal bonds to the government.

Social implications

This study is related to legal certainty as a strategy to attract investment through municipal bonds and to ensure the municipal bond issuance process is transparent and efficient.

Originality/value

This study provides a comparative perspective on the issuance of municipal bonds in Indonesia, with a special focus on Vietnam, emphasizing the urgency of harmonization in legal regulation and the sustainability of legal certainty.

Details

International Journal of Law and Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-243X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 August 2021

Yulianti Abbas and Craig L. Johnson

This paper analyzes the impact of increased federal regulatory enforcement from the SEC's Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) initiative on municipal debt…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper analyzes the impact of increased federal regulatory enforcement from the SEC's Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) initiative on municipal debt issuers continuing disclosure practices.

Design/methodology/approach

We analyze the changes in continuing disclosure practices by estimating a series of difference-in-differences regressions based on variables representing issuers' changes in regulatory risk after the MCDC. The continuing disclosure data are hand-collected for 827 cities over a seven-year period.

Findings

The empirical findings indicate that increased regulatory enforcement has a significant impact on continuing disclosure compliance. We find increased enforcement has no impact on issuers that already have a higher probability of being monitored by federal regulators. We also find that an increase in continuing disclosure compliance does not automatically increase continuing disclosure timeliness.

Practical implications

The MCDC lacks monetary penalties for noncompliant bond issuers and no direct regulatory consequences exist for untimely disclosure. Our findings suggest that regulatory enforcement should be followed by adequate sanctions to emphasize the credibility of the enforcement threat and the SEC should consider requiring bond issuers to commit to the timely disclosure of significant information in offering documents.

Originality/value

This paper extends prior studies by analyzing regulatory risk in the market, and the ability of regulation to reduce disclosure compliance deficiencies in the municipal market. By focusing on the MCDC, this study is able to disentangle the impact of regulatory enforcement from the changes in accounting regulation.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 February 2022

Earl D. Benson and Barry R. Marks

In April and May of 2010 Moody's recalibrated its municipal bond ratings to a global scale, the system they use for other asset classes and the same scale used by Standard and…

Abstract

Purpose

In April and May of 2010 Moody's recalibrated its municipal bond ratings to a global scale, the system they use for other asset classes and the same scale used by Standard and Poor's (S&P). The authors investigate the impact of Moody's recalibration on true interest cost (TIC) of competitively-sold, uninsured, new bond issues with split bond ratings, by looking at a sample of bond issues before recalibration (1997–2010) and after recalibration (2010–2017).

Design/methodology/approach

Two different hypotheses are tested for each period to estimate whether TIC remains the same when the S&P rating is higher (H1) than Moody's rating or lower (H2) compared to bond issues for which the S&P and Moody's rating are the same. Further, two additional hypotheses are tested. H3 tests whether the impact of having a higher rating from S&P is the same as having a lower rating from S&P. H4 tests whether the impact of having a split rating is the same in the pre- and post-recalibration period.

Findings

Tests suggest that before recalibration a higher S&P rating leads to significantly lower interest costs, but a lower S&P rating does not lead to significantly higher costs. After recalibration, a higher S&P rating leads to significantly lower interest costs; however, a lower S&P rating leads to significantly higher interest costs for the bonds in the sample. The findings also suggest that the rating systems of Moody's and S&P became more similar to each other after recalibration and that the impact on interest cost of a higher S&P rating is reduced after the recalibration.

Originality/value

It appears that a given Moody's rating (which used higher credit standards in the period before recalibration) was more influential than the S&P rating prior to recalibration because investors “ignored” a lower S&P rating during this period. After recalibration, the lower S&P rating was no longer ignored by investors. Therefore, Moody's recalibration seems to have had the intended effect of moving the credit standards of the two rating agencies more into parity. This provides value to investors since they may now assume, unlike the situation in the pre-recalibration period, that similar ratings from the two companies provide similar information about the probability of default and loss that would occur following a default. From the standpoint of regulators, the municipal credit information is easier to understand and is more transparent for investors.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 34 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2002

Yaw A. Badu, Kenneth N. Daniels and Francis Amagoh

Explains the rating system for US municipal bonds and its effect on borrowing costs, reviews relevant research and provides a study of the factors affecting grading by rating…

781

Abstract

Explains the rating system for US municipal bonds and its effect on borrowing costs, reviews relevant research and provides a study of the factors affecting grading by rating agencies in Virginia using 1995 data. Explains the methodology and presents the results, which identify five significant determinants of favourable ratings. Shows that net interest costs are lower when other rates of interest are low, real estate taxes are high (though not excessive), total municipal debt levels are low and credit risks are low. Confirms that bond ratings capture additional information and that a drop in ratings will raise net interest costs substantially. Considers consistency with other research and the implications of the findings for participants in the municipal bond market.

Details

Managerial Finance, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4358

Keywords

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