The Missing Information That Municipal Bond Investors Need

Prior to the Great Recession, interest rates on municipal bonds were generally lower than Treasury rates. This relationship has reversed since 2008, imposing substantial extra costs on state and local government borrowers. Further, the municipal bond market witnessed...

Bond Costs Hit New Homeowners

In a recent study of 800 municipal bond issues for UC Berkeley, I found that issuance costs varied widely – from less than 0.2% of face value to over 10%. Issuance costs are to local governments like points are to a consumer taking out a home mortgage. In both cases,...