Columbus, OH — The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) is honored to announce Bob Isaacson, Executive Director of DEED's Office of Business Finance has been elected as Chair of the CDFA Board of Directors. Isaacson has served on the CDFA board since 2017. He was elected Vice-Chair in 2018 at the Dallas CDFA National Summit and later fulfilled the remaining term of the Chair role in 2019.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development will make a second round of $550 million in Reconnect Pilot Program funding available in 2020. Nationwide, USDA will make available up to $200 million for grants, up to $200 million for 50/50 grant-loan combinations, and up to $200 million for low-interest loans.

Federal officials plan to approve a massive solar farm with energy storage in the desert outside Las Vegas, paving the way for a $1-billion project that will provide electricity to Nevada residents. At 690 megawatts across 7,100 acres, the facility would generate more power than the largest solar farm currently operating in the United States, a 579-megawatt plant in Southern California.

The past decade for downtown Oklahoma City has been one of rapid transformation, disruption, loss, and triumph. But as the decade comes to an end, downtown is still moving forward, changing and expanding in every direction.

The developers of two new skyscrapers on the Queens waterfront just scored at least $689 million in city financing. The massive project will include more than 1,000 residential units and be composed of two towers.

Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service released proposed regulations in November 2018 and May 2019, which were followed by 544 pages of final regulations on Dec. 19, 2019. Although the final regulations do not address all taxpayer concerns, the regulations do provide plenty of favorable and unfavorable guidance and must be carefully taken into account before making QOF investments.

The municipal bond market has staged a strong, somewhat unexpected rally in 2019, but faces growing risks from climate change, according to a growing number of investment firms. The growing risks are something that all municipal bond investors, analysts and portfolio managers have to think about to a greater degree than previously.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) awarded $700,000 in funding for a $1.5 million multi-stakeholder initiative led by the Croatan Institute aimed at developing an innovative, place-based financing model to support the adoption of farming systems. CDFA is a project partner and will assist in developing the concept of rural regenerative organic agricultural districts, also known as ROADs, to help agricultural producers and landowners finance soil wealth using land-secured financing mechanisms.

Muni market participants are banking on a surface transportation reauthorization bill passing in the first half of next year before elections get underway in 2020. The November election leaves a small window to pass the American Transportation Infrastructure Act, a five-year surface transportation reauthorization.

Municipal bond market leaders say their top wish for tax regulation in 2020 is for Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service to finalize their proposed transition rules for replacing Libor.

During this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast, hear from our experts as they dive into the data, examine the trends, and offer a preview of the bond market in 2020.

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