The municipal finance marketplace is evolving and shifting as cities grapple with insolvency. Look no further than the Chapter 9 bankruptcies of Detroit, Stockton and San Bernardino to see legal and financial hurdles not seen in municipal law since the Great Depression. With the myriad of issues facing municipalities, including underfunded pension plans and OPEB obligations, this problem won’t just go away.
Investors, lenders, trustees, bondholders, bond insurers and other market players need guidance, and so far it isn’t coming from the courts. Advice is needed when the municipal debt is initially structured and sold so that the municipality and the market players understand with clarity the impact of a bankruptcy filing on the prospects for repayment. Advice is also needed when insolvency presents itself and the opportunity for restructuring whether under the Bankruptcy Code or in an out-of-court context presents itself. Advice is also needed when lending to a troubled municipality.
We’ve teamed up our nationally recognized Public Finance group with corporate trust and bankruptcy professionals. Through this multidisciplinary approach, we bring proactive thinking and a deep bench to the full range of financing and insolvency issues municipalities and those who invest in municipal securities or make loans to municipalities face in the context of:
The Bond Buyer | October 26, 2020
This article on The Bond Buyer’s California Public Finance Conference Monday, which focused on how climate change will affect investors and rating agencies, quotes Los Angeles Project Finance & Public Finance partner Rudy Salo on the impact of Exxon Mobil’s litigation against California issuers on municipal markets.
The Bond Buyer | January 08, 2020
This article on the city of Chicago’s efforts to close a $838 million budget gap mentions New York City Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy partner Robert Christmas as STSC bond counsel for the city.
The Bond Buyer | May 17, 2018
New York City financial restructuring and bankruptcy partner Robert Christmas is quoted in this article about how things have changed over the last decade in the city of Vallejo, California, since filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2008.