Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, March 19, 2015
Bond refinancing saves Honolulu taxpayers nearly $44 million
By News Release @ 4:18 AM :: 4030 Views :: Honolulu County

Bond refinancing saves Honolulu taxpayers nearly $44 million

City successfully sells General Obligation Bonds at low interest rates

News Release from City and County of Honolulu March 18, 2015

The City and County of Honolulu today successfully sold approximately $888.635 million of tax-exempt and taxable General Obligation Bonds, the majority of which will be used to refinance existing debt and save taxpayer money, with the rest going to finance new capital improvement projects.

The average interest rate on the tax-exempt bonds for new projects is 3.39 percent, the second lowest rate in modern history.

The Caldwell Administration took advantage of low rates to refinance more than $504.950 million of existing General Obligation Bonds, which will save Honolulu taxpayers over $43.9 million in gross debt service.

Over $2.9 billion of orders were received for the bonds, a record amount for the City and County of Honolulu.  Strong demand resulted from the city’s comprehensive investor outreach effort.  This included an internet based presentation viewed by more than 20 major institutions.  City officials conducted meetings and conference calls with institutional investors and retail advisers in Hawaii.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch served as the lead underwriter for the offering with Piper Jaffray & Co. as the co-manager.  A one-day retail order period generated more than $303 million of orders including $54 million from Hawaii investors. Local financial institutions were active participants in the bond issue.

Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services affirmed the city’s existing general obligation bond ratings at “AA+” and “Aa1” respectively — both with “Stable” outlooks.

Fitch stated that “Honolulu’s strong financial position is supported by good reserve levels, balanced operations, and demonstrated revenue flexibility.”

Moody’s said, “The City’s Aa1 rating reflects its very large property tax base and emergence from the economic downturn with key credit factors not only intact, but improved…and prudent fiscal management demonstrated by conservative budgeting practices and recently improved reserve levels.”

Note: None of these bonds are related to the rail project.

-END-

PBN: Honolulu sells $888M in general obligation bonds

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii