Listing of Bond Offerings
Most municipals are quoted and traded on a yield to maturity basis. This type of quote is called a basis quote.
Some long-maturity revenue bonds are quoted and traded like corporate bonds as a percentage of par. These are known as dollar bonds. Dollar bonds are usually large-issue term securities, rather than serial issues, and they are traded fairly actively. Occasionally, bonds will be quoted on both a yield to maturity and a dollar basis.
|
Basis Quote and Dollar Quote |
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|
Face Value |
Issuer |
Coupon Rate |
Maturity |
Call Date* |
Yield to Maturity |
Dollar Quote |
|
$5,000 |
New Mexico |
4.25% |
7/1/30 |
C20 |
4.625% |
91.89% |
|
*Bond is callable in 2020 |
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A municipal bond quote, when you can find one, includes the following information:
•Number of bonds offered
•Name of the issuer
•Coupon rate
•Maturity date
•Yield basis
•Dealer’s concession
•Call provisions (if any)
The name of the issuer will also note the type of project and whether it is a revenue bond. Dollar bonds are quoted at a dollar price or percentage of par, rather than yield to maturity. Some financial services will publish both the yield to maturity and the dollar price of the bond.
When a bond is selling at a discount, its quoted yield will always be priced to maturity. However, when a bond is selling at a premium, it will be quoted at yield to call or yield to maturity, whichever is less. This is sometimes called yield to