Wondering When to Come to Market? Check Out EMMA’s Free Calendar Tools

Timing is everything, an adage that can apply to issuing municipal bonds to finance public projects. When state and local governments are planning to tap the capital markets, there are many factors to consider, such as what other transactions are expected to compete for investor attention around the same time and major economic data reports that can influence financial markets.

The Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website, emma.msrb.org, offers two free tools to assist issuers and their advisors as they consider the timing for issuing municipal bonds.

EMMA’s New Issue Calendar enables issuers to see the breadth and depth of new bond issues scheduled to come to market in the weeks ahead. This dynamic tool allows users to filter by state, tax status and whether the issue is bank qualified. The calendar also provides final pricing information for bond issues, giving issuers the ability to identify, monitor and compare yields and prices of similar issues that have recently sold.

For a look at the upcoming economic reports and events that may have an impact on the municipal bond market, consult EMMA’s Economic Calendar. Both the economic calendar and the new issue calendar are available to issuers and other market participants in the Tools and Resources area of the EMMA website.

The EMMA website is operated by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB).  The MSRB’s mission includes promoting a fair and efficient municipal securities market. EMMA serves as the official repository for information on virtually all municipal bonds, providing free access to official disclosures, trade data and other information about the municipal securities market.

EMMA can be a valuable source of information for local governments as they make the decision to borrow, assemble their deal team and plan their transaction. Read more about the new issue calendar, economic calendar and many other tools and resources for municipal securities issuers available on EMMA. Access additional resources for issuers in the MSRB’s Education Center at msrb.org.