(Washington, DC) The District of Columbia successfully marketed and sold today general obligation (GO) refunding bonds totaling $251.2 million. These bonds were issued for the purpose of generating debt service savings for the District by refunding (refinancing) certain outstanding District GO bonds at lower interest rates. The tax-exempt, fixed-rate bonds have a final maturity of 2030 and sold at a weighted-average interest rate of 4.47 percent. This refunding bond issuance produced present value debt service savings for the District totaling $9.2 million.

The bonds were brought to market via an underwriting team headed by Lehman Brothers, with Merrill Lynch and Seibert Brandford Shank serving as co-senior managing underwriters. The District initially offered a refunding transaction last week, but decided to postpone that sale because the level of expected savings fell short of District and industry standards. With a refinement of the structure of the bonds, the District and its underwriting team were able to execute the refunding today and exceed the savings target.

The bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the District, and were bolstered by the recent upgrades in the District’s bond ratings to A1 and A+ by Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, respectively. Standard and Poor’s affirmed its existing A+ rating on the District’s GO bonds.

“The reception to the District’s bonds from insurers and investors indicates that the District’s credit is being received positively in the marketplace. We are pleased to have been able to come back to the market this week and achieve substantial debt service savings for the District,” said Treasurer Lasana K. Mack.