Municipal issuance surged 31.7% in the first quarter of 2024, rising to $98.245 billion from $74.625 billion in the first quarter of 2023. The increased par amount was achieved in 1,607 deals in Q1 2024, up from 1,397 in Q1 2023, according to LSEG data.
BofA Securities remained at the top of the list, with $14.260 billion, accounting for 14.5% of the market. The top 10 saw some shuffling, but no new entrants cracked it.
"With a nonexistent new-issue calendar and heavy dealer balance sheets, we expect the muni market to get a bit 'grabby' over the next few weeks," AllianceBernstein strategists said.
The rating agency's new local government rating criteria led to the higher rating.
Another round of grants authorized in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is going out to 129 airports in 40 states.
The system, along with UT Southwestern Medical Center, plan to build a $5 billion pediatric health campus in Dallas.
Infrastructure practice is a "strategic priority" for the firm, it said in announcing the hire of Elena Millerman.
Laws enacted in Arkansas and Kansas will reduce income tax revenue by hundreds of millions of dollars in fiscal 2025.
