The Three-Ring Bond Circus: How bond deals work

The process of putting together a bond deal is complicated and delicate. Investors choose from thousands of options when buying municipal bonds and most seek deals that involve something between little risk and no risk at all. Yet the projects financed by bonds are often massive, involving dozens of risk factors. The task of investment bankers and others who put together bond deals is to put together a package that not only eliminates or minimizes risk factors, but also minimizes the appearance of risk.

An overview of the bonding process authored by Justice Strategies analyst Kevin Pranis can be found at www.publicbonds.org, a website launched by the nonprofit group Good Jobs First to help ordinary people understand the mechanics and implications of municipal bond deals. Click here to read The Three-Ring Bond Circus: How bond deals work.