Kutak Rock served as Underwriter's counsel in Chicago's Sales Tax Securitization Corporation's $376,305,000 Sales Tax Securitization Bonds Series 2018A and $303,975,000 Sales Tax Securitization Bonds Series 2018B.

While Chicago's own general obligation ratings range from low/junk to the high triple-B category, the Sales Tax Securitization Corporation's paper carries an AA rating from S&P Global Ratings and AAA ratings from Fitch Ratings and Kroll Bond Rating Agency. All assign a stable outlook. The city, which previously postponed an $898 million tax-exempt bond issue by the corporation, restructured the deal to include about $300 million of taxable bonds.

The pricing of nearly $376.3 million of the city’s Sales Tax Securitization Corporation tax-exempt bonds resulted in spreads of 53 to 60 basis points over Municipal Market Data’s benchmark triple-A yield scale.

In the opinion of several market participants, Chicago’s downsized and refashioned sales tax securitization may fare better than the original deal that was previously delayed.

Kutak Rock attorneys Lance Tyson, Deborah Boye and Dennis Holsapple, all resident in the firm's Chicago office, served as underwriter's counsel to Sales Tax Securitization Corporation.