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So when I suggested that we do a movie edition of the Bond Bank in the spirit of the summer blockbuster, I overlooked one tiny detail. Not that I miss having my headshot stare back at me, but to be swapped out for the angry green floating Wizard of Oz head…man, that’s funny. The Bond Bank, Your Friendly Face of State Government.
In the spirit of the quote, I had the rare opportunity to peek “behind the curtain” and travel to D.C. to provide policy guidance to our partners at USDA-RD on unlocking access to capital and propelling rural prosperity.
Indiana Bond Bank was the only state actor invited to this forum alongside large, private national lenders and industry groups. That fact is significant and shows recognition that we’re not sitting still. The invitation served to boost our belief that others are taking notice of our efforts over the last 9 months to change the dynamic for the local entities who we serve.
USDA-RD has seen firsthand some of the innovation going on here in Indiana, having in February flown from D.C. to participate in a facilitated brainstorming designed to improve an already strong program.
Three key enhancements for 2018-2019 for the Interim Loan Program came out of our collective work.
· Creating a closing calendar, with pooled monthly closings to reduce costs and enhance efficiency
· Fixing our cost of issuance, to eliminate variability for our borrowers
· Matching our interim financing interest rate to the USDA-RD permanent financing rate, to provide rate certainty for our borrowers
As a result of these changes and our belief in the program structure, I asked our Board of Directors to expand access to the Interim Loan Program to any qualified entity. Now, for the first time since the program started in 2014, interim or construction financing is available through the Bond Bank. Bond anticipation, grant anticipation or other federal or state take-out similar to USDA-RD are all eligible for the expanded program.
We’re applying this same care and thought into
developing other new programming. That’s as much of a teaser trailer as I
can give you…we’ve got some fun things cooking. Coming soon to a QE near
you, right? If I have to be Oz head, I’ll embrace it. Because my
team probably forgot that the Wizard has the best quote in the whole movie – “A
heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by
others.” I judge our Bond Bank heart to be full, and that’s thanks to the
generosity and love you’ve shown us over these past 9 months. We are
driven every day to honor that love.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions!
 317-233-0093
mwuellner@inbondbank.com
We’re not looking for a Superman or a Wonder Woman. Just a hard-working, creative person to help us in our mission to create vibrant communities in Indiana. If you believe, as we do, that the foundation of success for Hoosiers starts with strong schools, libraries and local governments, the Bond Bank is a great place to directly make an impact.
In the Program Development Director role, you’ll communicate our message and develop new initiatives. The job description can be found at www.inbondbank.com under the Welcome header or on the state job bank at https://www.in.gov/spd/2333.htm. Applications will be accepted through July 6th to mwuellner@inbondbank.com.
Aaron Barnett of the Bond Bank presents to the Indiana Association of School Business Officials annual conference on the continuing disclosure obligations related to debt issued through the Bond Bank. Kudos to IASBO and Ice Miller LLP for the opportunity.
Aaron also hosted a continuing disclosure webinar with Crowe LLP. If you were not able to attend, the link is here.
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