Type | Public Limited Company |
---|---|
Industry | Finance |
Founded | 2014 |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Sir Merrick Cockell, Sir Stephen Houghton |
Services | Bonds |
Website | www |
The UK Municipal Bonds Agency (UK MBA) is Local Government Funding Agency that exists primarily to reduce councils' capital long term financing costs in the United Kingdom. [1] It allows local authorities to diversify funding sources and borrow at a lower cost than is available from Central Government via the Public Works Loan Board of the UK Debt Management Office, which is part of HM Treasury. [2] The agency will sell municipal bonds on the capital markets, raising funds that it will then lend to councils. [3]
The UK MBA was founded in 2014. [4] It was founded by, is owned by and lends to Local Authorities within the United Kingdom. [4]
As of January 2016, 56 local authorities as well as the LGA and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, have signed up as shareholders in the UK Municipal Bonds Agency. [5]
Shortly before December 2015, [4] a framework document setting out the working of the UK MBA was also distributed to councils with Cambridgeshire County Council becoming the first local authority to approve it in early February 2016. [5]
In October 2019, PFM Financial Advisors LLC were appointed as the managed service provider to the UK Municipal Bonds Agency. [6]
The UK Municipal Bonds Agency provides councils with lower borrowing costs.[ peacock prose ] The goal of the UK MBA is to lower costs for council taxpayers and provide value for money for councils, [1] via the public bonds market. [1] The UK MBA will issue bonds backed by joint and several guarantees of the authorities involved. [4]
The Chairman of the UKMBA is Sir Merrick Cockell, who was previously head of the Local Government Association. [5]
The Vice Chairman of the UKMBA is Adrian Bell, [7] who also heads up JCRA's Canaccord Genuity team. [8]
Formerly the Chief Executive of UKMBA was Aidan Brady, previously a Chief Operating Officer at Deutsche Bank, an investment bank. [9] In October 2019, Aidan Brady stepped down from his role at the UKMBA. [10]
In January 2016 the UKMBA announced the appointment of four key non-executive appointments and converted to a public limited company (Plc) as it prepares for launch. [8]
Sir Stephen Houghton, leader of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and chair of Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, has been appointed senior independent director. [8]
Other appointments include Derrick Anderson, former chief executive of Lambeth and Wolverhampton councils; Mridul Hegde, a former director of public spending at the Treasury; [5] and Melanie McLaren, executive director of codes and standards of the Financial Reporting Council. [8] Mridul Hegde and Melanie McLaren stepped down from their roles at the UKMBA in 2019 (Mridul) and 2018 (Melanie). [11]
Municipal bonds agencies also known as Bond banks or Local government funding agencies exist in other countries, such as Sweden and Finland. [12] In New Zealand, the Local Government Funding Agency (LGFA), is the second-biggest issuer of New Zealand-dollar debt behind the government. [5]
In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to provide cash flow to the creditor. The timing and the amount of cash flow provided varies, depending on the economic value that is emphasized upon, thus giving rise to different types of bonds. The interest is usually payable at fixed intervals: semiannual, annual, and less often at other periods. Thus, a bond is a form of loan or IOU. Bonds provide the borrower with external funds to finance long-term investments or, in the case of government bonds, to finance current expenditure.
A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of bond issued by a government to support public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments, and to repay the face value on the maturity date.
A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal bonds is often, but not always, exempt from federal and state income taxation. Typically, only investors in the highest tax brackets benefit from buying tax-exempt municipal bonds instead of taxable bonds. Taxable equivalent yield calculations are required to make fair comparisons between the two categories.
Local government in England broadly consists of three layers: civil parishes, local authorities, and regional authorities. Every part of England is governed by at least one local authority, but parish councils and regional authorities do not exist everywhere. In addition, there are 31 police and crime commissioners, four police, fire and crime commissioners, and ten national park authorities with local government responsibilities. Local government is not standardised across the country, with the last comprehensive reform taking place in 1974.
In finance, a surety, surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay one party a certain amount if a second party fails to meet some obligation, such as fulfilling the terms of a contract. The surety bond protects the obligee against losses resulting from the principal's failure to meet the obligation. The person or company providing the promise is also known as a "surety" or as a "guarantor".
A credit rating is an evaluation of the credit risk of a prospective debtor, predicting their ability to pay back the debt, and an implicit forecast of the likelihood of the debtor defaulting. The credit rating represents an evaluation from a credit rating agency of the qualitative and quantitative information for the prospective debtor, including information provided by the prospective debtor and other non-public information obtained by the credit rating agency's analysts.
The bond market is a financial market where participants can issue new debt, known as the primary market, or buy and sell debt securities, known as the secondary market. This is usually in the form of bonds, but it may include notes, bills, and so on for public and private expenditures. The bond market has largely been dominated by the United States, which accounts for about 39% of the market. As of 2021, the size of the bond market is estimated to be at $119 trillion worldwide and $46 trillion for the US market, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).
A revenue bond is a special type of municipal bond distinguished by its guarantee of repayment solely from revenues generated by a specified revenue-generating entity associated with the purpose of the bonds, rather than from a tax. Unlike general obligation bonds, only the revenues specified in the legal contract between the bond holder and bond issuer are required to be used for repayment of the principal and interest of the bonds; other revenues and the general credit of the issuing agency are not so encumbered. Because the pledge of security is not as great as that of general obligation bonds, revenue bonds may carry a slightly higher interest rate than G.O. bonds; however, they are usually considered the second-most secure type of municipal bonds.
The state treasurer of California is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-five individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is Fiona Ma, a Democrat. The state treasurer's main office is located in the Jesse M. Unruh State Office Building in Sacramento.
The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities in England and Wales. Its core membership is made up of 317 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association.
In investment, the bond credit rating represents the credit worthiness of corporate or government bonds. It is not the same as an individual's credit score. The ratings are published by credit rating agencies and used by investment professionals to assess the likelihood the debt will be repaid.
Bond insurance, also known as "financial guaranty insurance", is a type of insurance whereby an insurance company guarantees scheduled payments of interest and principal on a bond or other security in the event of a payment default by the issuer of the bond or security. It is a form of "credit enhancement" that generally results in the rating of the insured security being the higher of (i) the claims-paying rating of the insurer or (ii) the rating the bond would have without insurance.
A social impact bond (SIB), also known as pay-for-success financing, pay-for-success bond (US), social benefit bond (Australia), pay-for-benefit bond (Australia), social outcomes contract (UK), social impact partnership (Europe), social impact contract (Europe), or simply a social bond, is a form of outcomes-based contracting. Although there is no single agreed definition of social impact bonds, most definitions understand them as a partnership aimed at improving the social outcomes for a specific group of citizens. The term was originally coined by Geoff Mulgan, chief executive of the Young Foundation. The first SIB was launched by UK-based Social Finance Ltd. in September 2010.
A Green bond is a fixed-income financial instruments (bond) which is used to fund projects that have positive environmental and/or climate benefits. They follow the Green Bond Principles stated by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), and the proceeds from the issuance of which are to be used for the pre-specified types of projects.
The Australian government debt is the amount owed by the Australian federal government. The Australian Office of Financial Management, which is part of the Treasury Portfolio, is the agency which manages the government debt and does all the borrowing on behalf of the Australian government. Australian government borrowings are subject to limits and regulation by the Loan Council, unless the borrowing is for defence purposes or is a 'temporary' borrowing. Government debt and borrowings have national macroeconomic implications, and are also used as one of the tools available to the national government in the macroeconomic management of the national economy, enabling the government to create or dampen liquidity in financial markets, with flow on effects on the wider economy.
A local government funding agency (LGFA) or bond bank, or other terms, is financial institution that serves as a vehicle for local government authorities such as municipalities, county councils and regions to access capital markets for the purpose of jointly procuring credit for public investment projects. The local and/or regional authorities of a country or state typically own the LGFA, sometimes with a minor ownership by the state.
The Pooled Finance Development Fund Scheme (PFDF) has been set up by the Central Government of India. The main aim of the Government authorities is to provide credit enhancement facilities to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) based on their credit worthiness. This will enable them to access market borrowings through state-level pooled mechanism. PFDF is to ensure availability of resources to Urban Local Bodies in order to improve urban infrastructure and ultimately attain the goal of self-sustainability.
The Puerto Rican government-debt crisis was a financial crisis affecting the government of Puerto Rico. The crisis began in 2014 when three major credit agencies downgraded several bond issues by Puerto Rico to "junk status" after the government was unable to demonstrate that it could pay its debt. The downgrading, in turn, prevented the government from selling more bonds in the open market. Unable to obtain the funding to cover its budget imbalance, the government began using its savings to pay its debt while warning that those savings would eventually be exhausted. To prevent such a scenario, the United States Congress enacted a law known as PROMESA, which appointed an oversight board with ultimate control over the Commonwealth's budget. As the PROMESA board began to exert that control, the Puerto Rican government sought to increase revenues and reduce its expenses by increasing taxes while curtailing public services and reducing government pensions. These measures provoked social distrust and unrest, further compounding the crisis. In August 2018, a debt investigation report of the Financial Oversight and management board for Puerto Rico reported the Commonwealth had $74 billion in bond debt and $49 billion in unfunded pension liabilities as of May 2017. Puerto Rico officially exited bankruptcy on March 15, 2022.
The Local Capital Finance Company is a United Kingdom-based quango and private company that provides loans to local authorities. It is an alternative for local authorities to borrowing via the Public Works Loan Board of the UK Debt Management Office, which in turn is part of UK Governments HM Treasury.
John Clancy is a former political leader (2015–2017) of the largest local authority in Europe, Birmingham City Council, and is a visiting professor at Birmingham City University Business School, in the U.K.'s second largest city, Birmingham. He is a qualified solicitor.