The State of Connecticut used a debt service reserve fund insurance policy from Build America Mutual as part of a funding solution that allowed the state to launch the Connecticut Baby Bond Trust with an initial deposit of $398 million.
BAM DSRF insurance policies are flexible tools that allow U.S. municipal bond issuers to re-deploy cash from reserve funds for other public purposes, including reducing total outstanding debt, reducing annual debt-service costs, and financing additional essential infrastructure. BAM has issued more than 1,300 DSRF insurance policies for more than $3.7 billion nationwide.
“DSRF insurance policies can play a powerful role in making public policy goals more affordable, from traditional infrastructure like water and sewer utilities and airports to innovative investments in economic opportunity like the CT Baby Bonds,” said Juliet Stiehl, Head of East Region Public Finance for BAM.
The CT Baby Bonds program is a first-in-the-nation effort to fight generational poverty and promote economic mobility by creating investment accounts on behalf of Medicaid-eligible children born in the state. Connecticut officials originally planned to finance the Baby Bond Trust by selling $600 million of new-money debt over 12 years. State Treasurer Erick Russell said utilizing the BAM DSRF insurance policy cut the program’s cost by more than $200 million.
“This program benefits from clear support throughout the state’s leadership, as evidenced by their willingness to explore this creative funding solution,” said BAM Vice President Kevin Roberts, who was the principal analyst on the transaction. “The state general obligation pledge and long-term progress on improving its fiscal outlook helped make this transaction possible.”
About Build America Mutual
BAM is a mutual bond insurance company operated for the benefit of its members – the cities, states and other municipal entities that use BAM’s financial guaranty to lower their cost of borrowing. BAM is the preferred provider of bond insurance for the National League of Cities. Through June 30, 2023, BAM has insured $128 billion of municipal securities and has more than 5,000 municipal issuer-members from 49 states. Learn more at http://buildamerica.com/about-bam/
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Contacts
Michael Stanton, Head of Corporate Strategy and Communications
212-235-2575; mstanton@buildamerica.com
