A symbol of what can be created during the darkest times to serve the public for the following century
On this day May 27th of 1937, during the Great Depression, an iconic structure deemed one of the Wonders of the Modern World was opened, the Golden Gate Bridge. This opening ceremony occurred 20 years after the bridge was designed, at the time, the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world. It remains the most photographed bridge on the planet, and in my opinion, the most beautiful.
I still stare and marvel at the Golden Gate every time I see it, and often think of the human ingenuity and ambition it required to overcome the technical and financial challenges it encountered, in order to build public infrastructure so awe-inspiring, right here in CA.
As you can tell, IBank remains fully operational, but also fully remote. On our weekly all-staff zoom meetings we enjoy observing the longer hair and increasingly creative wardrobes of our colleagues.
A few updates: With the published May revise budget and Trailer Bill Language, the Governor reaffirmed his support for the launch of the Climate Catalyst Fund despite the inability to allocate dollars from the state’s General Fund. Catalyst will instead seek capital from alternative sources in order to help finance the green infrastructure of the future.
The Governor’s budget also included a $50M additional allocation to the Small Business Finance Center, coupled with the $50M emergency funds he announced on April 2nd. Together, this $100M will help to provide necessary emergency relief to thousands of underserved small businesses throughout the state that are in desperate need of assistance.
While the bond markets remain volatile, muni market yields have steadily improved over the past 2 months, back near the historic low yields of early March. IBank continues to target a refunding of its 3 outstanding bonds in late summer, to achieve cost savings, financing flexibility and to lock in historic low interest rates that can be passed on to our borrowers.
At the same time, we continue to monitor our portfolio carefully, to maintain our credit quality while seeking solutions to assist communities and businesses throughout the state to weather this crisis and to prepare to rebuild in its aftermath.
Afterall, the Golden Gate Bridge is more than a means of transport to get from point A to B. It’s a symbol of what’s possible, what can be created during the darkest times to serve the public for the following century – a symbol that could not be more relevant today, on the Golden Gate’s 83rd birthday.
