Public Finance

On March 9 & 10, 2026, Loop Capital Markets served as Bookrunning Senior Manager on the State of Ohio’s $358.710 million Common Schools (Tax-Exempt), Third Frontier Research and Development (Taxable), and Higher Education (Taxable) General Obligation Bonds, Series 2026A. The financing was rated Aaa (Stable), AAA (Stable), and AAA (Stable) by Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, respectively. Proceeds of the transaction will be used for new money purposes for each of the respective series. $90 million of taxable bonds across two series amortized over 5 years from 2026 to 2031 with a make-whole call while $268.710 million of tax-exempt bonds amortized over 20 years from 2026 to 2045 with a 10-year par call. The 2031 maturity was bifurcated to fulfill a reverse inquiry for a 2.875% coupon, with all other maturities structured as 5% coupons.

Market conditions during pricing were volatile driven by inflationary concerns from rising oil prices attributed to the ongoing Middle East conflict. On Monday, March 9th, taxable indications of interest generated $251.130 million of orders corresponding to 2.8x oversubscription. The transaction was primarily sponsored by Bond Funds, Money Managers, and Insurance Companies. To appeal to Ohio-based municipalities (and Ohio-based asset managers on behalf of Ohio-based municipalities), the taxable series provided priority to such accounts with up to a 50% allotment by maturity. Notably, an Ohio-based asset manager on behalf of Ohio municipalities submitted nearly $46 million of orders. On Tuesday, March 10th, the tax-exempt order period generated $343.160 million of orders corresponding to 1.3x oversubscription. The transaction was primarily sponsored by SMAs, Prop/Trading, and Insurance Companies. In support of the transaction, Loop Capital Markets underwrote $26 million of tax-exempt bonds.