Norwalk Issues $92 Million In Bonds At Record Low Rates

Press release from the City of Norwalk:

Aug. 4, 2021

On Thursday July 29, 2021, the City of Norwalk closed on two bond issuances raising a total of $92 million - $46.4 million of Taxable Refunding Bonds and $45.55 million of Tax Exempt New Money Bonds. Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch rated the bonds Aaa/AAA/AAA all with a Stable Outlook.

The Series 2021B Taxable Refunding Bonds, which priced on Wednesday July 14, refinanced $43.23 million of prior Tax-Exempt Bonds the City had originally issued in 2017 and 2018. The rates on prior bonds predominantly ranged between 2.0% - 3.125%, with approximately $4.325 million having rates of 4%.

The refunding reduced the remaining life of the bonds by two-to-three years, from original final maturities of August 1, 2037 and August 1, 2038 to August 1, 2035. The new 14-year bonds were issued at a True Interest Cost (TIC) of 1.57%, resulting in a Net Present Value (NPV) Savings of $1.6 million.

Norwalk also issued $45.55 million of Series 2021A Tax-Exempt New Money Bonds which priced on Thursday July 15, to finance various City Capital Projects including $550,000 of specific projects for Norwalk’s Sixth Taxing District. This issue includes Serial Bonds maturing through July 15, 2038 and Term Bonds maturing on July 15, 2046 and 2051. These 30-year bonds were issued with a TIC of 2%.

Since September 2019, the City of Norwalk has refunded previously issued bonds four times in issuances totaling $143.8 million. The average TIC of these refunding issues has been 1.4%, and the sum of the Net Present Value Savings achieved has totaled $10.4 million.

This press release was produced by the City of Norwalk. The views expressed here are the author's own.