City partners with BondLink to bolster transparency and attract new investors.
(DURHAM, NC, August 16, 2023) — The City of Durham, North Carolina, is proud to announce the launch of its new investor relations website, CityofDurhamBonds.BondLink.com.
Developed in collaboration with BondLink, the innovative website will provide the community, current bondholders, and future investors with easy access to comprehensive financial information about the City’s debt and capital programs.
As part of Durham’s commitment to continuous improvement and development, the website launch comes ahead of a bond sale to support various projects that will enhance the city's infrastructure, promote sustainable growth, and strengthen the community.
Durham's exemplary financial standing sets it apart as one of the 44 cities nationwide rated AAA by S&P, Moody's, and Fitch. This prestigious AAA rating signifies the highest level of creditworthiness and reflects Durham's robust financial management practices and prudent fiscal policies.
"Our AAA rating is a testament to our city's financial stability and responsible management of public funds. We’re always looking for ways to advance these practices and be a leader across all aspects of our operations,” said Finance Director and Chief Financial Officer Tim Flora with the City of Durham. "By partnering with BondLink to launch our new investor relations website, we’re aiming to attract a broader range of investors, particularly local retail buyers, who share our commitment to socially responsible initiatives.”
BondLink, the leading cloud-based investor relations and debt management platform for the municipal bond market, will enable Durham to provide investors with a centralized platform to access critical financial data and documentation related to its financing programs. BondLink has successfully collaborated with surrounding municipalities, including Lincoln County, Johnston County, and the City of Charlotte.
Colin MacNaught, chief executive officer and co-founder of BondLink, expressed his excitement about the partnership stating, "Durham's dedication to financial transparency and its stellar AAA rating make it a standout city in the municipal bond market. We’re thrilled to work closely with their treasury team to enhance their investor relations strategy and help them attract a diverse group of investors. This collaboration serves as an inspiring model for other cities to follow suit and optimize their financing programs."
For more information about Durham's new investor relations website and updates on the upcoming bond sale, visit CityofDurhamBonds.BondLink.com.
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About the City of Durham
While the City of Durham, now the fourth largest city in the state, was once known as a banking and tobacco center, many other industry sectors have been drawn to the city over time. With the birth of the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in the 1950s, Durham began to take on a new look that has evolved this region into a global center for information technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and medicine.
Durham is famously known as the “Bull City” due to its origins in tobacco manufacturing as well as the “City of Medicine” since healthcare is a major industry including more than 300 medical and health-related companies and medical practices. Between 1900 and 1925, two well-respected educational institutions were founded, North Carolina Central University and Duke University. These institutions have established Durham as a city of high academic acclaim, producing well-qualified candidates for the various industries that call Durham home.
Durham's credit position is excellent. There are approximately 22,500 cities in the U.S. and currently Durham is one of only 44 cities nationwide to receive the top-level AAA credit rating from all three major national bond rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch. This rating makes the City of Durham one of the highest-rated public entities in the United States. For more information, visit www.durhamnc.gov and connect on social media.
About BondLink
BondLink, a cloud-based investor relations and debt management platform for the municipal bond market, helps issuers engage more bond investors through transparency and actionable insights. Founded by CEO Colin MacNaught, who spent seven years issuing nearly $25 billion in bonds on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and CTO Carl Query, BondLink went live in 2016. BondLink clients issued more than $48 billion in bonds in 2022. BondLink provides its issuer clients with tools to manage their capital financing programs more efficiently while providing investors with the interim financial reports and data they need to close information gaps and make informed decisions through a single platform. The company is backed by top investors within the municipal bond market, including Intercontinental Exchange and Franklin Templeton. Headquartered in Boston, BondLink was recently named to the 2023 GovTech 100, marking its fifth consecutive appearance on the annual list.