Nashville Mayor: Metro Bond Refinancing Saves Taxpayers $60 Million

From the City of Nashville:

January 28, 2021

By Andrea Fanta

Mayor John Cooper today announced a $60 million gross savings for Nashville's taxpayers, following Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County's refinancing of $628 million in general obligation bonds. These savings, which will be realized over the life of bonds, exceed early projections by $15 million and reflect a strong appetite to invest in Nashville. Initial orders were nearly tenfold oversubscribed.

"Just like Nashville's homeowners carefully manage their money and take advantage of low interest rates, Metro Government is doing the same to save taxpayers millions," Mayor John Cooper said.

Prior to the transaction, Metro achieved high credit ratings of AA/AA2 from S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service, respectively. Both agencies marked Metro's financial outlook as stable, pointing to strong financial management and bright prospects for the local economy, post-pandemic.

"Mayor Cooper has emphasized the importance of fiscal stewardship since his years on the Metro Council," said Finance Director Kevin Crumbo, "so I'm delighted to deliver positive financial results and transaction wins like this early in his Administration."

The Metro Council green lighted a transaction negotiation earlier this month, and as market conditions turned favorable, Metro Finance moved quickly to lock in favorable terms that will benefit taxpayers for years to come.

The bonds were underwritten by UBS Financial Services Inc. on behalf of itself and Loop Capital Markets, LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co., Barclays, Blaylock Van, LLC and Piper Sandler & Co. in a negotiated sale. Closing is scheduled for February 18, 2021.

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