[Archived] City of Alexandria Sells General Obligation Bonds

City Press Release


	For Immediate Release	For More Information, Contact
	June 15, 2006 PIO# 154-06/bh	Brian Hannigan, Director of Communications, or Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300 Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300

City of Alexandria Sells General Obligation Bonds

The City of Alexandria competitively sold $56 million in tax-exempt general obligation bonds on Tuesday, June 13, in order to finance capital projects in the City’s approved Capital Improvement Plan, including a portion of the construction costs of T.C. Williams High School. The City also competitively sold $15 million in taxable bonds for the acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable/workforce housing by non-profit housing organizations.

The True Interest Cost of the winning bid of the tax exemptions was 4.218%, with Banc of America Securities, LLC submitting the winning bid. Its partner syndicate members were Ferris Baker Watts; A.G. Edwards; Hutchinson Shockey, Erley; Janney Montgomery Scott; and Charles Schwab. The bidding was very competitive, with ten firms submitting bids for the tax exempt bonds, and with only about 7/100ths of 1% separating the high bidder from the low bidder.

The True Interest Cost of the winning bid for the taxable bonds was 5.768%, with BB&T Capital Markets submitting the winning bid. Six firms submitted bids for the taxable bonds.

The high interest in both types of City bonds indicates a strong desire by many firms in the financial markets to own City bonds. This in part reflects the City’s strong AAA/Aaa credit characteristics. Both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s investment services recently reaffirmed Alexandria’s top AAA/Aaa bond ratings. Alexandria remains as one of only 45 cities and towns in the United States with perfect bond ratings from the nation’s two leading municipal credit rating agencies.

The issuing of the Preliminary Official Statement and the bidding itself were conducted in real time on-line via the Internet, which has been the City’s practice since its 2000 bond sale. The City was the first local government in Virginia to use on-line bidding. It is now considered the general practice in the municipal bond industry.

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