Business Overview

Vermont Municipal Bond Bank (VMBB) is a quasi-state agency administered by a board of directors that includes the State Treasurer and four members appointed by the Governor.

We were established in 1970 with a mandate to provide municipalities with access to municipal bond proceeds at the lowest possible cost. To date the VMBB has issued over $1.26 billion in tax-exempt bonds for over 790 projects and refunding bonds.

Municipal applicants issue bonds to the VMBB and are pooled or combined into one large bond issue which is then sold by the VMBB in the state and national municipal bond market.  The proceeds of such bonds are loaned to the participating municipalities pro-rata based on the amount of their bonds issued to the VMBB.

We offer our eligible participants (Vermont cities, towns, villages, school districts, counties and water, sewer, fire, transportation, solid waste and library districts)

• Lower Interest Rates - because of our experience, credit ratings, and reputation in the capital markets, we are able to obtain very low interest rates.
  
  
• Credit Enhancement & Security - currently VMBB is rated AA+ (Fitch), Aa3 (Moody’s) and has been able to obtain competitive, low cost AAA-rated bond insurance, as needed, to further lower interest rates.
  
  
• Reduced Costs of Issuance - VMBB usually pays for all the costs associated with the bond issue. The only costs municipalities have to pay for are for local bond counsel and a financial audit.
  
  
• Simplification - the staff at VMBB is ready to help with application completion. If the application is approved, all a municipality then has to do is sign legal documents prepared by its local bond counsel and wait for the bond proceeds to be wire transferred after the sale and closing. We complete all the remaining documents and take care of all the ongoing requirements.
  
  
• Ongoing Federal Disclosure – federal securities law requires ongoing secondary market disclosure related to each bond issue.  VMBB takes care of this SEC requirement on behalf of its borrowers.  No single municipality is required to provide detailed disclosure with respect to its financial or operating information. By virute of the VMBB providing this service, a borrower is able to avoid the ongoing fees associated with compling with the disclosure rules. 

In addition to providing municipalities access to bond proceeds, Vermont Municipal Bond Bank assists the Agency of Natural Resources in the administration of the State Revolving Fund (SRF).