Genesee County postponed a $54.2 million offering planned for Aug. 1. Flint, which also has an emergency manager and is the seat of Genesee, is about an hour’s drive northwest of Detroit.
Michigan issuers have sold a combined $23 million in the two weeks since Detroit filed for Chapter 9 protection, the slowest stretch for the state since January 2012, Bloomberg data show.
Saginaw County, north of Detroit, plans to sell about $61 million of taxable general obligations Aug. 8 in the only long- term deal scheduled from the eighth-most-populous state this week, Bloomberg data show.
Saginaw’s Plan
“We think we will get positive attention towards this sale,” Robert Belleman, Saginaw’s controller, said in an Aug. 1 interview after Genesee’s postponement. “The county is in strong financial health and has limited outstanding debt.”
S&P may adjust ratings on general obligations from Michigan issuers depending on how Detroit’s debt is dealt with in bankruptcy, Jane Ridley, the New York-based company’s primary Detroit analyst, said in an online presentation last week.
“No one on the Street and no one in retail wants to step up and pay a premium for a Michigan credit right now,” said Michael Camarella, who helps oversee $33 billion in munis for OppenheimerFunds in New York.
“Detroit is an incredibly unique situation and we don’t expect or think it should impact the state or other local communities, which should continue to be judged on their own credit ratings and histories,” Terry Stanton, spokesman for Michigan’s treasurer, said in an e-mailed statement. “Michigan and its local communities will continue to be sound, smart investments.”
Albany Borrowing
Investors were willing to buy bonds from New York’s Albany County last week. The municipality had one more bidder for its $37 million of general obligations than last year, Comptroller Michael Conners said. Proceeds will fund the purchase of a court building.