Market Trends
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Market Trends
Welcome to the Stephens Public Finance 2023 Mid-Year Review. I am thrilled to share with you this summary of our insights and activities from the first half of 2023. Our bankers have captured their best ideas and distilled them into actionable takeaways for the municipal market.
Alfred Ray offers his keen perspective on The Stephens Approach. Lyman Wray provides thoughts on serving the diverse needs and priorities of clients in the American South. Jason Holsclaw examines funding for critical public infrastructure projects. Kevin Faught recalls how Arkansas communities such as Springdale have achieved surprising levels of growth.
Leigh Ann Biernat and Jack Truemper also deliver a case study on funding for improvements to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. This project is of vital interest to the state due to the hospital’s role in serving the most vulnerable residents. It also holds special meaning for Stephens, which successfully served as sole managing underwriter for the hospital for the first time in our 42-year relationship.
And I analyze how the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) of 2022 that Congress passed in December is poised to have far reaching impacts on financial institutions, investors, and municipal issuers nationwide over the next few years.
Although the municipal bond market continues to be very challenging, in terms of public finance transactions, we were quite active in the first half of 2023, completing transactions representing approximately $1.7 billion across governmental and nonprofit entities in the United States. Initial indications suggest the second half of the year will be just as robust.
As always, the Stephens Public Finance Group stands ready to provide expertise to our clients as they seek to access capital and achieve their unique funding goals in service to their communities. I sincerely hope you enjoy the entries in the Stephens Public Finance 2023 Mid-Year Review. Please always feel free to reach out to our team for more information.
