Public finance

The governor aims to secure federal funding with latest executive order in aftermath of Los Angeles fires.

In total, municipal bond insurers wrapped $41.09 billion of debt in 2024, an increase from the $35.38 billion insured in 2023, according to LSEG data.

State Farm's "emergency" rate increase request was rejected by California's insurance commissioner.

A bill would allow homeowners to receive the interest accrued on insurance payments for lost or damaged property, rather than lenders.

The recovery of local governments and utilities from hurricanes Helene and Milton continues but the outlook for next season and beyond is troubling.

The Federal Open Market Committee cut the fed funds target again in December but signaled fewer cuts in 2025. There was some dissent. The markets are watching to see if the Federal Reserve pauses its easing cycle in January. Brian Rehling, head of global fixed-income strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, recaps and parses the previous day's FOMC meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.

The NFMA has floated best disclosure practices for public power agencies that ask for more data on climate and resiliency goals.

California's IBank has partnered with an insurer and fire resilience fund to pay for fire resilience programs.

The agency cited the closeness of the entities to Florida's government.

When communities can't access affordable insurance, it can decrease home values, tank municipal bond ratings, and cripple the tax base — and this will only get worse if left unaddressed.

Moody's believes Florida will sell bonds to help replenish the CAT fund this spring.

MMA says some risky-sector issuers in the area hit hard by the hurricane may be pushed into technical or payment defaults.

California and Oregon are experiencing yet another record-setting year of wildfires amid increasing uncertainty about FEMA and property insurance backstops.

A rapidly escalating fire season hit the West amid questions about federal funding and insurance.

To meet the ambitious goals of the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, innovative financing models can be adapted from established municipal finance systems.

Assured's controlling vote is "important to investors who were reassured to hear that there would be a large sophisticated party with a significant economic interest in the success of the project," the insurer said.

Extreme weather could aggravate growing property insurance pressures on governments.

Insurance companies and banks have collectively reduced their municipal bond holdings by $102 billion, or 10% in just nine months in 2023.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. reported that private insurance companies assumed 650,399 policies from the state's last-resort carrier in 2023.

The top two municipal bond insurers wrapped $22.814 billion in the first three quarters of 2023, a slight dip of 0.5% from the $22.929 billion of deals done over the same period in 2022, according to Refinitiv data.