Nicole Selby
Senior Vice President, Head of Default and Special Services at Computershare Corporate Trust
As Head of Default and Special Services, Nicole Selby oversees Computershare’s Default and Restructuring Group. Computershare Corporate Trust’s marketing team sat down with her to learn more about her world and the successor trustee market.
Click here to read Part 2 of our conversation.
What are the key roles of a default and restructuring group when it comes to municipal debt?
An indenture trustee’s default and restructuring group plays a pivotal and distinct role in navigating through events of municipal default and other extraordinary circumstances. These professionals step into existing indenture trustee roles and work to maximize value on behalf of the bondholders. Their main duties include collaborating with bondholder groups that can provide the trustee guidance and direction when exercising remedies in accordance with the bond documents, communicating with holder groups and obligor representatives as requested, facilitating discussions among holders, and engaging with the obligor and conduit issuer, to the extent necessary.
What are the main causes of financial distress in municipal bonds, and what triggers the need for a successor trustee?
The primary trigger of financial distress in a municipal bond transaction is often tied to obligor revenue challenges, which may give rise to payment defaults or covenant compliance issues. For example, a hospital or university might not be generating as much revenue as initially projected. The holders of the debt, usually institutional holders, such as mutual funds, typically monitor the situation proactively. At the first sign of potential distress, the holders may contact the trustee to work with the obligor to alleviate the pressure and/or to begin the process of exercising remedies.
Should a credit conflict between the trustee and conduit issuer arise, that certainly creates the need to appoint a successor trustee free of conflicts. However, even if there is not a credit conflict, it is the bondholders’ desire to go with the successor trustee that has a proven track record of success that drives the decision-making towards moving to another trustee.
What message would you like to share with the municipal debt market?
For those involved in mutual funds or managing municipal debt portfolios, understanding the importance of a skilled and responsive trustee is essential. Computershare Corporate Trust’s Default and Restructuring team stands out in this realm, offering expertise and agility in managing distressed debt while remaining free of commercial lending conflicts. If you foresee financial distress on the horizon, consider us as your partner in preserving value and achieving optimal outcomes.
To learn more about our default and restructuring services, please contact Nicole Selby at Nicole.Selby@computershare.com.