Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani announced today that the New York City Transitional Finance Authority (TFA) Fiscal 2002 Recovery Note sale was named the "Municipal Deal of the Year" by SMITH's Research & Ratings Review 2001 Municipal All-Star Analysts Program. The award was presented to Adam Barsky, Chairman of the TFA, following the City's successful sale of $1 billion in Recovery Notes on October 2, 2001.

"This award is an acknowledgment of the hard work of the men and women of the City's Transitional Finance Authority who made the sale of $1 billion of New York City Recovery Notes such a success," said Mayor Giuliani. "But it is also a testament to the groundswell of support the City has received from throughout the country since September 11th. The proceeds from the sale will be put to good use; the money will help the City begin the process of rebuilding that will allow New York to emerge from this tragedy stronger and greater than before. "

"On behalf of the TFA and the City of New York, I am pleased to accept the Municipal Deal of the Year award," said Mr. Barsky. "The proceeds from these Notes are a critical part of the City's ongoing recovery efforts. The tremendous outpouring of support for New York from both retail and institutional investors across the country has proven beyond a doubt that America is standing with us."

Terence M Smith, publisher of SMITH's Research & Ratings Review said, "The New York City TFA Recovery BANs thoughtfully leveraged the public's capital and allowed the City to move ahead at a crucial moment in this nation's history. What's more, the success of the NYC TFA BANs reassured the entire fixed income capital markets and helped stabilize the world's equity markets."

SMITH's All-Star Program recognizes excellence wherever it occurs. SMITH's All-Star Program starts each summer with SMITH's Blue Ribbon Ballot Committee making nominations to the ballot. The ballot committee is made-up of some of the nation's top municipal investment managers. All-Star voting takes place in the fall with voting open only to institutional investors. This year's polling of the nation's municipal leaders produced a turnout of 395 voters; New York City TFA Recovery BANs were selected by an unprecedented unanimous vote.

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