Two new municipal-bond delinquencies have emerged, both of which appear to be triggered by the Covid-19 crisis, according to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the regulator for municipal bonds.
The first is for Massachusetts Development Finance Agency Health Care Facility Revenue Bonds, Series 2007A, Series 2007C, Series 2007D, Series 2007E, and Series 2007F, and Series 2010. The proceeds were used to fund the Lafayette Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Facility and the Fairhaven Healthcare Center. The interest payment due on April 15 wasn’t paid, the agency said in a filing.
The second delinquency was for the City of Topeka, Kan., Economic Development Refunding Revenue Bonds, Series 2011A, which originally funded the YMCA of Topeka’s new recreation center. “Recently, the overall revenue of the Topeka Y has dropped, impairing the ability of the Topeka Y to properly fund the Series 2011A Bonds,” the YMCA said in a filing.
On April 14, a bond issued by the City of Terre Haute, Ind., is believed to be the first municipal default disclosure related to disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus.
Barron’s
By Leslie P. Norton
April 21, 2020 2:25 pm ET