The Upside To Detroit Muni Bonds

Detroit’s bankruptcy has the potential to reshape municipal bondholders' assumptions as Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr pushes further than most investors expected, but the upheaval has also created some interesting investment opportunities.

Investors were disappointed when Orr released his plan to restructure Detroit’s debt last month because it treated limited unlimited tax general obligation (GO) bonds the same, offering a 20% recovery to each. The plan also proposed a system that would let the investors for different classes of secured Detroit Water and Sewer bonds (DWSB) to vote whether their bonds would be replaced with Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) bonds or re-couponed. These terms aren’t final, US Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes still has to rule and monoline insurance companies...