SIFMA Survey Forecasts Total Long-Term Municipal Issuance of $317 billion in 2019

New York, NY, December 19, 2018 – Respondents to the 2019 SIFMA Municipal Issuance Survey expect total long-term municipal issuance to reach $317.0 billion in 2019, slightly below the $330.7 billion issuance expected in 2018.  Short-term issuance is expected to decline in 2019, with $36.5 billion in short-term notes expected to be financed compared to $43.0 billion in 2018.  Including short-term issuance, total municipal issuance is expected to decline to $353.5 billion in 2019 from $373.8 billion expected in 2018.

Respondents were polled as to events that would most likely have the greatest effect on the municipal market in 2019. Half of the respondents considered fiscal pressures associated with underfunded pension programs to have the greatest effect in 2019, followed by a broad-based deterioration of credit.

Respondents project long-term tax-exempt municipal issuance to reach $275.0 billion in 2019, slightly down from 2018’s expected issuance of $287.2 billion.  Projected volumes for taxable municipal issuance in 2019 ($25 billion) are unchanged from 2018 volumes.  Alternative minimum tax (AMT) issuance is expected to also remain unchanged from 2018 issuance at $17 billion.

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SIFMA is the voice of the U.S. securities industry. We represent the broker-dealers, banks and asset managers whose nearly 1 million employees provide access to the capital markets, raising over $2.5 trillion for businesses and municipalities in the U.S., serving clients with over $18.5 trillion in assets and managing more than $67 trillion in assets for individual and institutional clients including mutual funds and retirement plans. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org.