Hartford Municipal Bonds Rebound (via Seeking Alpha)
Hartford Municipal Bonds Rebound (via Seeking Alpha)
Hartford General Obligation Bonds bounce back after flirting with Bankruptcy
In the summer of 2017, Hartford CT Mayor, Luke Bronin declared that without help from the State of Connecticut, the capital city would need to file bankruptcy. The Mayor went so far as to hire bankruptcy council to advise the city on the process. If you need a refresher on this northeast bond drama, read my post on Seeking Alpha from May of 2017. Mayor Bronin’s dramatic move (and in my opinion, a reckless and unnecessary move) sent the price of Hartford General Obligation bonds crashing, for example, Hartford G.O. 5’s of 2027. Prior to the mayor’s declaration, the bonds were trading right around par (100%). After the mayor publicly made it known that he was exploring bankruptcy the price of bonds fell to below 70 cents on the dollar. It may have been political theater, but for investors looking for liquidity in the face of media articles about Hartford’s impending financial implosion, the price hit was about 30% of face amount on their holdings. For those brave souls that held on through this episode, their patience (and surely added stress) has paid off.