Southwest debt issuance accelerates in first half, led by Texas

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Municipal bond issuance in the Southwest jumped 29.8% to $50.6 billion in 2024’s first half with Texas accounting for 65% of the volume amid a deluge of debt from the education sector.

After a first quarter slump, issuance in the region zoomed 60.3% higher in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2023, according to LSEG Data & Analytics, formerly Refinitiv. Nearly 21% of nationwide volume, which climbed 32.3% to $242.16 billion by an Oklahoma County District Court judge, who found it violated the state constitution in a case brought by a state pension recipient. An appeal filed by state Attorney General Gentner Drummond is pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Several studies pointed to adverse financial and economic impacts from the Texas and Oklahoma bans as a result of reduced underwriter competition. The Texas-based American Energy Institute has pushed back against some of the studies.

Hilltop Securities, last year’s busiest financial advisor for Southwest deals, retained that position for the first half of 2024, credited by LSEG with $10.291 billion of debt, followed by PFM Financial Advisers with $4.680 billion, Estrada Hinojosa with nearly $2.779 billion, and Specialized Public Finance with $2.726 billion.

McCall Parkhurst & Horton topped the bond counsel rankings with nearly $11.795 billion of debt after coming in first in 2024. Bracewell ranked second with $5.491 billion, followed by Norton Rose Fulbright with $3.7 billion, and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe with $3.112 billion.

The same financial advisor and bond counsel firms ranked in the same order for Texas deals in the year’s first half.

The Southwest region consists of Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.