Wayne County, Michigan, received an upgrade from Moody's Investors Service this week that pushed the once speculative-grade credit into the single-A category six years after a financial crisis. Moody's raised the county's issuer rating and the general obligation and lease rental bonds issued by the Detroit Wayne County Stadium Authority to A3 from Baa1 and signaled the potential for further positive momentum by assigning a positive outlook.

The underreporting of bank debt remains a sizable risk for holders of municipal bonds two years after Securities and Exchange Commission rule changes designed to improve transparency. That was the conclusion of scholarly research performed by three economists and presented Monday at the Brookings Municipal Finance Conference. The paper examined the effectiveness of regulations designed to improve the transparency of private debt.

Between 2016 and 2020, green, social, and sustainability bond issuance grew by an average of 72% a year in the United States, according to a report issued by the Climate Bonds Initiative. Green municipal bonds issued by local government authorities and state-backed government entities made up 23% of the total volume of annual issuance in the U.S.