Jones County is first in the state to take advantage of Stimulus Act program.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Sept. 23, 2009) — Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. led the underwriting effort for the $3.65 million sale of Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds issued by Jones County, Miss., the state’s first municipal debt issuer to take advantage of this federally subsidized program, according to Gavin Murrey, managing director of the firm’s public finance offices in Memphis and Jackson, Miss.
“The Recovery Zone Bonds provided the opportunity to finance needed improvements,” Murrey said. “They took advantage of a unique program that will benefit the citizens of Jones County.”
Several factors contributed to the appeal of the offering, according to Lindsey Carter, associate vice president at Morgan Keegan and head of the transaction’s underwriting team. Carter cited the insurance against default by Assured Guaranty Corp., general obligation backing of the county, and the county’s “A+” ratings upgrade from Standard & Poor’s as key factors that attract investors.
“The RZEDB program allows issuers to offer investors attractive yields and, in the case of Jones County, reduced risks provided by bond insurance and the county’s strong municipal credit,” Carter said. “The successful completion of the offering was also helped by the firm’s distribution capabilities and by the strong interest of retail investors.”
Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds (RZEDBs), the $10 billion federally subsidized borrowing program that permits local governments to sell taxable bonds instead of tax-exempt bonds, was created by the Stimulus Act of 2009 to aid areas of the U.S. hurt during the recession. The taxable securities are eligible for a 45 percent rebate on interest costs from the U.S. Treasury. The $3.65 million of RZEDBs sold by Jones County represents the county’s allocated capacity from the federal government for this type of bond. The offering also included the sale of $5.67 million of bank qualified tax-exempt bonds.
In the first half of 2009, Morgan Keegan was the eighth largest municipal bond underwriter in the U.S., serving as book running manager on 262 issues with a par amount of $5 billion, according to Thomson Reuters, one of the leading municipal bond information services in the country. Additional rankings in the first-half of 2009 as municipal bond underwriter include:
- Ranked #1 in Mississippi, as senior manager of 16 issues with a par amount of $280 million
- Ranked #1 nationally as underwriter of Build America Bonds competitive issues, completing 15 transactions with a par amount of $369.6 million
- Ranked #1 in the South Central region of the U.S., an area that includes AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, and TN, on 107 issues with a par amount of $2.8 billion
- Ranked #1 in taxable competitive issues on 23 transactions with a par amount of $450 million
- Ranked #2 as underwriter of bank qualified issues on 154 transactions with a par amount of $1.5 billion.
About Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc.
With more than 4,300 employees providing services in some 300 offices, Memphis, Tenn. based Morgan Keegan is one of the largest full-service brokerage and investment firms in the nation. The firm’s staff of more than 180 public finance professionals provides underwriting services through 28 banking offices in 14 states. Additional information about Morgan Keegan, the investment and securities brokerage trust and asset management division of Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE:RF), can be found at www.morgankeegan.com.
About Regions
Regions Financial Corporation, with $146 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 100 Index and one of the nation's largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, trust, securities brokerage, mortgage and insurance products and services. Regions serves customers in 16 states across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates 1,900 banking offices and approximately 2,300 ATMs. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.
Contact:
Melinda Rutland
901.531-3259
melinda.rutland@morgankeegan.com
