Public Finance Authority

Name

Public Finance Authority

Legal name

Public Finance Authority

Website

https://pfauthority.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Conduit Bond Issuance

NAICS

Public Finance Activities (921130), Nondepository Credit Intermediation (5222)

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Debt Management (BPAIAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

State & Local Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) (FSALAKAA), Government Accounting & Financial Reporting (BPAIAEAD)

Keywords

• Conduit bond issuance
• Tax-exempt municipal financing
• Affordable housing bonds
• 501(c)(3) nonprofit financing
• Industrial development bonds

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Bond Issuance Fees: PFA generates revenue through issuance fees charged to borrowers for bond financing transactions. As a governmental entity established under Section 66.0304 of Wisconsin State Statutes, PFA issues conduit bonds and charges fees for the issuance and program management services. No public subsidies or taxpayer dollars are used to facilitate operations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Public Finance Authority is a governmental conduit bond issuer that arranges and issues tax-exempt and taxable municipal bonds on behalf of eligible borrowers including 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, affordable housing developers, manufacturers, exempt facility operators, and local governments across all 50 states. PFA charges issuance and program management fees to borrowers, with no use of taxpayer dollars, and pairs bond issuance with required local-government TEFRA approval and ongoing post-issuance compliance monitoring.

Product overview

Public Finance Authority (PFA) is a Wisconsin-based governmental conduit bond issuer offering a multi-program platform for tax-exempt and taxable bond financing across all 50 states. The platform operates through seven interconnected bond programs: the 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Finance Program for healthcare, educational, cultural, and recreational organizations; the Affordable Multifamily Housing Bond Program for low-income and senior housing; the Industrial Development Bond (IDB) Program for manufacturers; the Exempt Facility Bond Program for airports, solid waste, and utilities; the Water/Wastewater Pooled Bond Program for municipal infrastructure; plus Charter School Facility Financing, Airport Bonds, and an Asset Ownership Structure for direct project ownership. PFA provides post-issuance compliance services including access to HCS housing compliance software. The platform's value proposition centers on providing lower-cost financing through tax-exempt bonds, local government oversight via TEFRA approval requirements, and access to municipal bond markets for entities that might otherwise lack resources. PFA is sponsored by the National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, Wisconsin Counties Association, and League of Wisconsin Municipalities, and is represented by municipal advisor GPM Municipal Advisors, LLC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Finance Program Provides eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations (healthcare, education, cultural, recreational) with tax-exempt bond financing for capital projects including construction, acquisition, renovation, or rehabilitation of facilities and equipment, or refinancing of existing debt.
• Affordable Multifamily Housing Bond Program Provides for-profit and nonprofit developers access to tax-exempt bonds to finance low-income multifamily and senior housing projects, facilitating eligibility for the federal 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
• Industrial Development Bond (IDB) Program Provides eligible small to medium-sized manufacturers with capital project financing for land, buildings, and new equipment through tax-exempt industrial development bonds, with eligibility thresholds (under $10M per project, aggregate tax-exempt debt outstanding under $40M).
• Exempt Facility Bond Program Assists eligible borrowers finance various types of exempt facilities owned or used by private entities using tax-exempt bonds, including solid and hazardous waste disposal facilities, airports, docks and wharves, local utility facilities for water/sewer, and mass commuting facilities.
• Water/Wastewater Pooled Bond Program Enables cities, counties, towns, and districts to finance or refinance water and wastewater projects through PFA at AA rates, bundling eligible borrower obligations with additional security from bond insurer Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM).
• Post-Issuance Compliance Services Provides ongoing compliance monitoring for tax-exempt bond borrowers including quarterly income and rent analysis, certificate filings, site visits, file audits, and access to HCS housing compliance software for affordable housing financings.
• Airport Bond Program Offers tax-exempt bond financing for airport facilities as part of the Exempt Facility Bond Program, subject to volume cap allocation requirements.
• Taxable Bond Program Provides taxable conduit bond financing for projects that do not qualify for tax-exempt status but still serve public benefit purposes.
• Asset Ownership Structure Provides a structural framework for PFA to own projects directly with structural and document protections, disclaimed contractual liability, and delegation of responsibilities to bond trustee and facilities manager.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked 4th in nation by total dollar volume in 2025 with $9+ billion in bonds issued
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered founding sponsor, core, minor and strategic.

• National Association of Counties (NACo)founding sponsorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four founding sponsors of PFA. NACo is a political subdivision of the District of Columbia with 660 North Capitol St NW Suite 400, Washington, DC 20001. Managing Director Paul Terragno oversees financial services center relationships. NACo engages in marketing and awareness activities to generate deal-flow for PFA.
• National League of Cities (NLC)founding sponsorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four founding sponsors of PFA. Located at 660 N. Capitol St. NW, Washington, DC 20001. Program Director Linda Gatti manages enterprise partnerships. NLC promotes PFA success stories among member cities.
• Wisconsin Counties Associationfounding sponsorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four founding sponsors of PFA. Located at 22 E Mifflin St., Suite 900, Madison, WI 53703. Executive Director Mark O'Connell leads the organization. WCA provides administrative support and hosts PFA board meetings.
• League of Wisconsin Municipalitiesfounding sponsorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four founding sponsors of PFA. Located at PO Box 6358, Monona, WI 53706. Contact Jerrv Deschane manages relationships. Contributes to PFA's local government focus.
• Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm assisted the sponsors in drafting Section 66.0304 of Wisconsin State Statutes and the joint exercise of powers agreement establishing PFA. Contact Roger Davis at (415) 773-5758. Serves as bond counsel for asset ownership structures.
• Compliance Services (Housing Compliance Services)coreTechnology or IntegrationThrough agreement with Compliance Services, PFA provides access to HCS housing compliance software and state-of-the-art compliance monitoring procedures for affordable housing borrowers. Includes quarterly income/rent analysis, electronic filing, site visits, and automated HUD updates.
• AHF-Villas at Sonterra (Atlantic Housing Foundation)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTexas company linked to South Carolina nonprofit Atlantic Housing Foundation. Used by PFA to finance purchase and renovation of the Villas at Sonterra, a multifamily residential community in Texas, through $23.3 million bond offering.
• Texas Infrastructure Program (TIP)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPFA partnership with TIP to issue bonds to home developers in Texas. TIP provides early stage infrastructure financing through innovative, tax-exempt solutions. This partnership increases access to housing in growing Texas metropolitan areas by bridging the gap between when developers need loans and when local MUDs provide them.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Others

• Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM): AGM is a bond insurance provider and an active PFA partner that enhances credit on the Water/Wastewater Pooled Bond Program. AGM serves the broader municipal bond ecosystem where PFA operates as a conduit issuer, often wrapping PFA-issued bonds with credit enhancement for water utilities.
• PFM (Public Financial Management): PFM is a large independent financial advisor specializing in public finance, debt issuance, and investment management for state and local governments. Similar to GPM Municipal Advisors (PFA's municipal advisor), PFM provides advisory services on the same conduit and negotiated bond issuances that PFA facilitates.
• Hilltop Securities: Hilltop Securities is a municipal financial advisor and underwriter providing services across tax-exempt and taxable financings. As a financial services partner comparable to PFA's GPM Municipal Advisors relationship, Hilltop serves similar issuers and borrowers in the conduit bond ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Goldman Sachs Municipal Securities Group: Goldman Sachs operates a substantial municipal securities underwriting business that complements and competes with conduit issuance platforms. As a broad incumbent in public finance, Goldman engages with the same institutional investors, borrowers, and deal structures that PFA serves through conduit bond issuance.
• JPMorgan Public Finance: JPMorgan is one of the largest underwriters of U.S. municipal bonds and a frequent counterparty on conduit issuances such as those facilitated by PFA (e.g., KeyBanc Capital Markets in the NHPF deal). As a broad incumbent in the municipal securities market, JPMorgan competes for the same issuer and underwriter mandates at a much larger scale.
• Build America Mutual: Build America Mutual is a mutual bond insurer providing credit enhancement on U.S. public finance transactions, broadly overlapping with municipal bond issuance. While not a direct competitor to PFA's conduit issuance, BAM is a key counterparty in the same municipal bond ecosystem that supports PFA's borrowers (similar to AGM's role in PFA's water/wastewater program).

Direct peers

• New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA): NYCIDA is a conduit bond issuer for industrial, commercial, and not-for-profit projects in New York City, with similar structure and program offerings to PFA's IDB and 501(c)(3) programs. Comparable in serving the same borrower categories (manufacturers, nonprofits, healthcare, education) under municipal oversight.
• California Statewide Communities Development Authority (CSCDA): CSCDA is the most direct competitor to PFA in multi-jurisdictional conduit bond issuance, providing 501(c)(3), affordable housing, and exempt facility bond issuance for projects in California with a similar nonprofit/affordable housing focus. Both authorities compete for the same borrower universe with overlapping program offerings and similar TEFRA/local-approval frameworks.
• California Pollution Control Financing Authority (CPCFA): CPCFA is a state-level conduit bond issuer focused on industrial development bonds, exempt facility bonds, and pollution control financing, comparable to PFA's IDB and Exempt Facility programs. They overlap directly in serving manufacturing and exempt facility borrowers through tax-exempt conduit structures.
• New York State Housing Finance Agency (NYSHFA): NYSHFA issues tax-exempt and taxable bonds for affordable multifamily housing across New York, directly overlapping with PFA's Affordable Multifamily Housing Bond Program. Both agencies facilitate access to 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financing through conduit bond issuance for eligible projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Public Finance Authority