On May 18, 2022, SWS served as joint-senior manager for the State of Illinois’ (the “State”) General Obligation Bonds, Series of June 2022A (the “June 2022A Bonds”) and General Obligation Bonds, Refunding Series of June 2022B (the “June 2022B Bonds”, and collectively, the “June 2022 Bonds”).

The June 2022A Bonds were issued to (i) fund accelerated pension benefit payments, and (ii) finance capital expenditures authorized by the State’s previous capital programs and the Rebuild Illinois capital plan The June 2022B Bonds were issued to (i) refund outstanding general obligation bonds of the State.

Moody’s upgraded the State’s rating to Baa1 from Baa2, assigning a stable outlook; S&P raisedits rating for the State’s debt one notch to BBB+ from BBB, assigning a stable outlook; Fitch upgraded the State’s rating to BBB from BBB-, assigning a stable outlook. The State’s staff participated in 6 one-on-one calls with investors. The investor roadshow was viewed by 114 unique investors.

The June 2022A Bonds were structured with principal maturing serially from 2023 through 2038 (5% coupons through 2036 and 5.25% coupons in 2037-2038) and two term bonds in 2042 and 2047 (5.50% coupon). The June 2022B Refunding Bonds were structured with principal maturing serially in 2023 through 2036 (5% coupon). The municipal market had been experiencing volatility for weeks. 

The market had been monitoring speeches or discussions from many of the Fed governors; on the day of pricing, the MMD curve was left unchanged from top to bottom, marking just the second time this month MMD remained unchanged.

SWS assisted in putting in approximately $4.99 billion in total orders during the order period. At re-pricing, spreads tightened by 9 bps in 2023, 7 bps in 2024, 1 bps in 2027, and 2 bps in 2028-2029, 2032-2033, 2037, 2042 and 2047. SWS assisted in retaining over $4.99 billion in total orders (3.0x oversubscription) after re-pricing. 

The June 2022A Bonds achieved an all-in TIC of 4.81%, while the June 2022B Bonds achieved an all-in TIC of 4.24%; the June 2022B Refunding Bonds achieved approximately $21.91 million in NPV savings, or 3.02% of the refunded bonds.