Researched and written by CDFA, this is the third white paper in a series examining the potential creation of a food systems asset class that supports the market growth of local and regional food systems. This paper focuses specifically on bond financing, which CDFA considers a ‘bedrock tool' for the historic and foundational role bonds have played in public financing.

Defaults on local government bonds have been more frequent than credit rating agencies have reported, according to a paper by Lang (Kate) Yang of The George Washington University and Yulianti Abbas of the University of Indonesia prepared for the 2019 Municipal Finance Conference at the Brookings Institute.

The use of private activity bonds would be expanded to include financing for new charging stations for zero-emission vehicles under recently introduced Greener Transportation for Communities Act. Several other bills that would expand the usage of PABs have been introduced in this Congress, including the Move America Act and the Public Buildings Renewal Act.

The State of Georgia successfully sold $1.03 billion in three different series of general obligation bonds to fund new construction projects and equipment, make repairs and renovations to existing facilities, and refund outstanding bonds to achieve debt service savings.

LISC, with support from the Ford Foundation and in collaboration with CDFA, has released Navigating the Opportunity Zones: Community Partners. The release is the first installment of the LISC Opportunity Zones Playbook series and is geared to the people and organizations committed to community revitalization and shared prosperity for all residents.

At the most basic level, the credit quality of a municipal bond issuer is largely influenced by the economics of the region in which it's located. Knowing which areas are prospering and expanding today, and what to watch for in the future, can help municipal bond investors avoid potential credit problems down the road.

Issuance in the U.S. junk bond market gained new momentum Thursday boosted by rate cut bets following testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Bloomberg's Lisa Abramowicz takes a look at high-yield bond sales on "Bloomberg Markets: The Close."

Buildings and infrastructure are still being repaired and upgraded, and the government has instituted a full slate of tax incentives to lure investors. On top of this, Puerto Rico is the beneficiary of community development block grant funding, and 97% of the entire commonwealth — much of it beachfront — has been designated a qualified opportunity zone.

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In the second Quarterly Legislative Update of 2019, CDFA's Legislative Team discussed progress on pending CDFA legislation, other pending development finance legislation such as extenders, as well as what to expect from Congress in the coming months.

One-third of reservation-based Native Americans fall below the poverty line, and the nations governing these reservations, unable to spur economic development, struggle to provide even the most basic services. Yet, despite their difficulty in accessing capital markets, native nations harbor significant potential for economic growth due to their vast resources, land, and sovereignty; so much so, in fact, that tribal finance expert dubbed them "America's domestic emerging market."

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