The Municipal Bond Department at Bear Stearns trades securities of virtually every municipal industry sector, geographic region and credit quality.

Bear Stearns is consistently ranked by portfolio managers as one of the premier market makers and liquidity providers among the major municipal dealers on Wall Street.

Bear Stearns has built its municipal business steadily, with industry expertise in the following areas:

  • Airports
  • General government
  • Healthcare
  • Higher education
  • Housing
  • Pension obligation
  • Primary and secondary education
  • Public power
  • Tobacco securitizations
  • Transportation
The firm's Public Finance Department originates debt obligations issued by states, cities and other governmental entities to raise capital to finance local projects.

Over the past five years, Bear Stearns has ranked among the top firms in lead managed, long-term negotiated financings.

Bear Stearns' reputation for excellence in raising capital in the municipal finance market is based on a combination of technical expertise in structuring innovative deals, a willingness to commit capital on the issuer's behalf, and an eagerness to develop long-term client relationships.

In preparing a financing for the primary market, Bear Stearns works closely with the issuer to determine the issue size, prevailing market conditions, bond type and any legal restrictions or covenants.

The Municipal Bond Department is committed to participating in innovative online trading and information systems designed to enhance opportunities for clients. Bear Stearns was an early participant and equity partner of BondDesk, an electronic municipal bond marketplace that provides participants with primary and secondary market information and offerings on a real-time, executable basis.This sharing of inventories and information creates a more efficient marketplace and provides greater price transparency.

In particular, BondDesk offers account executives from the Private Client Services (PCS) Division at Bear Stearns a centralized source for bond offerings through the use of its electronic trading system, which lets brokers automatically execute transactions. A bid/offer auction system increases liquidity.

The Bear Stearns Municipal Derivatives Desk provides expertise in all areas of municipal derivatives and structured municipal products.The desk also structures and remarkets secondary tender option bonds for sophisticated institutional clients, in addition to structuring and optimizing reinvestment products for municipal clients. Bear Stearns offers a full range of both conventional municipal securities and derivatives based investment alternatives. The desk is active in both the primary and secondary markets of this rapidly growing sector.

Bear Stearns structures, markets and trades the broad spectrum of tax-exempt bonds, including:

Municipal Bonds
  • Auction Rate Bonds
  • Certificates of participation
  • General obligation bonds (GOs)
  • Industrial development revenue bonds and pollution control revenue bonds
  • Insured bonds
  • Letter of credit bonds
  • Pre-refunded and escrowed bonds
  • Revenue bonds
  • State appropriation bonds
  • Super sinker and planned amortization class (PAC) bonds
  • Taxable municipal bonds
  • Zero coupon bonds
Short-Term Municipal Products
  • Commercial paper
  • Municipal notes, including revenue anticipation notes (RANs), tax anticipation notes (TANs), and tax and revenue anticipation notes (TRANs)
  • Variable rate demand obligations
Municipal Derivative Products
  • Basis swaps
  • Consumer Price Index (CPI) bonds
  • Debt service deposit agreements
  • Flex repo
  • Forward delivery bonds
  • Guaranteed investment contracts (GICs)
  • Index Floaters
  • Interest rate caps and floors
  • Interest rate swaps
  • Reserve fund put agreements
  • Swap options
  • Tender option bonds