Dinsmore in The Bond Buyer’s Top 10 for Bond Counsel

May 2, 2016News Releases
A busy first quarter earns Dinsmore & Shohl LLP a ninth place ranking in The Bond Buyer’s top bond counsel report. Dinsmore’s first quarter bond counsel transactions totaled more than $2.28 billion, earning the firm a top 10 ranking for the first time. The Bond Buyer compiles the highest dollar volume of municipal bond transactions for January, February and March to create this report.

Overall, volume was down as 2016 closed out its first quarter. Dinsmore was one of a handful of firms who had a higher par amount for the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015.

Highlighting Dinsmore’s first quarter transactions are a pair of refunding deals for Kentucky: a $222 million Turnpike deal and a $679 million State Property and Building Commission (SPBC) deal. The SPBC Project No. 112 deal included new money in addition to the refunding portion. The $561 million in Revenue Refunding Bonds refinanced portions of five separate previous bonds and broke the record for largest savings in the Commonwealth of Kentucky's history.

“With short term rates up and long term rates down, this is an ideal time to refund existing bonds, and our clients have taken advantage of these refunding opportunities. First quarters are typically slow, but this year, the work picked up pace and hasn’t slowed down,” said John C. Merchant, Dinsmore Public Finance Group Co-Chair. “The higher percentage of present value savings for the clients makes refundings very attractive.”

Finance Department Chair Thomas A. Wilson says the Federal Reserve looks to keep interest rates low in the coming quarter. Wilson anticipates refunding will remain steady in the coming months.