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Abstract: 

The authors present both a description of the current state of the municipal market and a specific proposal aimed at improving the way in which this market serves borrowers and investors. They propose the establishment of a nonprofit independent advisory firm—CommonMuni—that would reduce borrowing costs for municipalities and increase returns for investors by overcoming the difficulty individual municipalities and investors have in coordinating their actions and sharing market knowledge. CommonMuni would provide individualized advice, gather and disseminate information on bond issuers and transaction prices to increase transparency, and coordinate market participants to enhance liquidity in the municipal bond market.

Keywords: CommonMuni, municipal market transparency, municipal market liquidity, derivatives, advance refundings

Affiliations:  1: Columbia Business School; 2: Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business.