ANNAPOLIS (Feb. 27, 2009) - Maryland State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp announced Friday that for the first time in modern history Maryland residents will be able to purchase directly Maryland’s Triple AAA-rated general obligation bonds from a group of underwriters selected for this offering.
Maryland purchasers will have first priority in a retail sale that began Friday and continues on Monday, March 2 and Tuesday, March 3.
The interest earned on these bonds is exempt from federal taxes for all purchasers and also exempt from State and local taxes for Maryland residents.
Up to $415 million will be available for retail purchase in denominations of $5,000 each. For more information about the retail sale of Maryland’s general obligation bonds, see http://buymarylandbonds.com/
Traditionally, large institutions have been the primary purchasers of the State’s general obligation bonds sold by competitive bid. Availability of these bonds to individual investors has been limited. This direct retail sale represents a significantly different approach, one used in recent months by other AAA-rates states such as Delaware, Georgia and Virginia.
Treasurer Kopp said, “This is a precedent-setting retail sale, something we are doing in response to numerous requests during the past several years to make our general obligation bonds more directly available to our citizens. In a period of widespread credit concerns, we expect Maryland bonds to be attractive to both retail and institutional investors.”