The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) recently sold $84.9 million of affordable multifamily housing revenue bonds.
It was the first time in nearly a decade that the agency has sold bonds under a party indenture for a pool of multifamily permanent loans.
The bonds are designated as “sustainability bonds” by CalHFA, which indicates alignment with the International Capital Market Association Sustainability Bond Guidelines and the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals for green and social bond expenditures. S&P has provided a second-party opinion confirming this designation, according to officials.
The bonds are rated Aa2 by Moody’s and AA by S&P, both with stable outlooks.
Individual investors from California demonstrated their support by placing orders for more than $24.7 million of the bonds. The bond sale also experienced high demand from institutional investors, with more than 30 orders placed by that group, reported state officials.
“California’s financing community has come out strongly to support CalHFA’s mission of investing in diverse communities,” said CalHFA director of finance Erwin Tam. “Through this issuance, CalHFA has also positioned itself as a proponent of the state’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values by incorporating enhanced disclosure practices around ESG reporting to investors.”
The California Treasurer’s Office served as the agent of sale, while Morgan Stanley served as senior manager for the transaction. Barclays Capital served as co-senior manager, and Ramirez & Co., Bank of America, and Citigroup Global Markets served as co-managers.