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Maryland State Treasurer
Nancy K. Kopp
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ANNAPOLIS (July 28, 2009) -- Maryland residents will have an opportunity to purchase up to $235 million in Triple A-rated Maryland General Obligation Bonds on a direct retail basis on July 31, August 3 and August 4, 2009.
The list of underwriters selected to sell these bonds in $5,000
denominations can be found on www.buymarylandbonds.com, along with other information about this sale.
Maryland purchasers will have first priority in the retail sale. The interest earned on these bonds is exempt from federal taxes for all purchasers and also exempt from State and local taxes for Maryland residents.
Maryland’s General Obligation bonds again were rated AAA, the highest
possible credit rating, last week by the three major bond rating agencies— Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, Moody’s Investors, and Fitch Ratings.
ANNAPOLIS (July 20, 2009) -- Maryland State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp
announced today that all three bond rating agencies have affirmed the State’s strong Triple AAA bond rating in preparation for the upcoming sale of $485 million of Maryland General Obligation bonds.
At the same time, Treasurer Kopp referred to her announcement on July 9 that Maryland residents will be able to purchase up to $235 million in Maryland General Obligation bonds directly from a group of underwriters selected for the offering. Maryland purchasers will have first priority in a retail sale that begins on Friday, July 31 and continues on Monday, August 3 and Tuesday, August 4, until the bonds are sold.
The interest earned on these bonds is exempt from federal taxes for all purchasers and also exempt from State and local taxes for Maryland residents. These bonds are for sale in $5,000 denominations.
Information is available on www.buymarylandbonds.com.
Up to $250 million in Maryland’s General Obligation bonds will be sold in a competitive sale conducted Wednesday, August 5 at the Board of Public Works meeting. Buyers of these bonds are expected to be institutional investors.
Maryland is one of only seven states to hold the coveted AAA rating, the
highest possible rating, from all three bond rating agencies. Standard and Poor’s has rated the bonds AAA since 1961. Moody’s Investors has assigned the bonds a rating of Aaa since 1973, and Fitch Ratings has rated the bonds AAA since 1993. The AAA rating means that the State can borrow money to undertake critical building projects at lower interest rates.
Treasurer Kopp said, “Though we again received Triple AAA ratings from the three major bond rating agencies, as we have for several decades, this recognition of Maryland’s fiscal strength does not come easily. Simply, the three rating agencies believe that Maryland’s government leaders are willing to make tough, prudent budgetary decisions in difficult times. Marylanders benefit from necessary capital projects, such as schools, community colleges and university projects, and save millions of dollars from the low interest rates achieved because of these ratings.”
The Maryland Board of Public Works, comprising Governor Martin O’Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Kopp, will approve the award of the retail portion of the bond sale and will preside over the competitive bid portion of the bond sale on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 in the Assembly Room in the Louis L. Goldstein Treasury Building in Annapolis.
ANNAPOLIS (March 4, 2009) -- Maryland State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp announced that the Maryland Board of Public Works, which comprises Governor Martin O’Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Kopp, completed today the successful sale of $490,800,000 of General Obligation bonds.
For the first time in modern Maryland history, the State sold bonds totaling $291,580,000 by direct retail sale through a group of underwriters, giving first priority to Maryland residents. Bonds were available for sale in denominations of $5,000 each, beginning Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 and ending on Monday, March 2.
The average interest rate for these retail bonds was 3.47 percent.
Of the $291,580,000 sold in the direct retail sale, refunding bonds totaled $65,800,000.The sale of these bonds saved the State of Maryland $2.9 million in debt service payments.
The success of this retail sale has motivated the State to consider again offering a first priority to Maryland citizens in its next sale of general obligation bonds scheduled for early August 2009. Investors periodically should check
www.buymarylandbonds.com for updates.
Traditionally, large institutions had been the primary purchasers of the State’s general obligation bonds sold by competitive bid. Availability of these bonds to individual investors had been limited.
At today’s competitive sale, $199,220,000 of bonds sold at an interest rate of 3.39 percent, one of the lowest rates in 20 years for Maryland’s general obligation bonds. The winning bidder was Merrill, Lynch. The sale occurred at 11 a.m. during the bi-weekly meeting of the State’s Board of Public Works.
Treasurer Kopp said, “We did extremely well in our first-ever direct retail sale, allowing Maryland residents to buy our Triple AAA-rated bonds, thus making a great investment in their State. Marylanders, like institutional investors, have made what I call a ‘flight to quality.’”
“Despite the difficult economic climate, our institutional sale also surpassed expectations. We attracted a very favorable interest rate, a benefit to our taxpayers. Investors, both individual and institutional, appreciate Maryland’s sound, prudent financial management,” Treasurer Kopp said.
On Friday, February 20, 2009, all three bond rating agencies—Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings—affirmed the State’s Triple AAA bond rating.
Maryland is one of seven states to currently hold the AAA rating, the highest possible rating, from all three major bond rating agencies. This rating enables the State to borrow money to undertake critical building projects, such as public schools, community colleges, prisons, hospitals, cultural projects and other
facilities, at lower interest rates.
In assigning its AAA long-term rating and stable outlook, Standard & Poor’s cited Maryland’s “well-defined financial management policies and a commitment to reserves despite budget challenges.”
Fitch Ratings, in assigning its AAA rating and stable outlook, said, “The state has taken prompt and repeated action to preserve operating balance to date, including tax increases, several rounds of spending cuts, as well as a rainy day fund draw.”
In explaining its Aaa rating and stable outlook, Moody’s said, “Maryland has a good history of managing its finances through periods of fiscal stress…Moody’s expects that, like other Aaa-rated states, and in keeping with Maryland’s historically conservative financial management and aggressive approach to dealing with budget shortfalls, the state will soon stabilize its finances.”
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