Key facts
- The municipal tobacco bond market has experienced its first-ever default.
- A Nassau County, New York, agency failed to make a $36 million principal payment.
- The payment was due on June 1.
- The tobacco bond sector is valued at $80 billion.
The municipal bond market, specifically the $80 billion tobacco bond sector, has recorded its first-ever default. This occurred after an agency in Nassau County, New York, failed to meet a $36 million principal payment that was due on June 1. The decline in smoking rates is cited as a contributing factor to this unprecedented event in the sector.
