Conference Agenda

Monday, September 15, 2008

CDIAC Pre-Conference Workshop Agenda

7:30 AM

Registration Opens

9:00 AM - 9:15 AM

Welcome and Introduction

9:15 AM - 10:30 AM

The Black Swan: Bond Insurance Downgrades and What Comes Next

In his 2007 book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, author Nassim Nicholas Taleb identifies momentous historical events which he names "Black Swans." To qualify as a Black Swan, Taleb says the event must occur with "rarity, extreme impact, and retrospective (though not prospective) predictability." Was the municipal bond insurance market subject to a rare event with such shattering impact that it will be markedly changed in the future? In light of recent events, this session discusses:

Will the insurance industry return to normal or will it transform and in what ways? What should issuers do in light of recent events?
How will the recent insurer rating changes affect public agency disclosure of outstanding bonds?
How many new entrants will emerge and how will this impact pricing?
Will insurers regain their overall market share or will issuers rely more heavily on their underlying credit rating and forego insurance?

Moderator:

Kathleen A. McDonough

Retired Senior Managing Director

Ambac

Dominic J. Frederico

President and Chief Executive Officer

Assured Guaranty Ltd.

Stephen J. Galiani

Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager

Wells Capital Management

Marcia Maurer

Chief Financial Officer

Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District

Tom McLoughlin

Head of Global Public Finance

MBIA

10:30 AM - 10:45 AM

Refreshment and Networking Break

10:50 AM - 12:00 PM

Will the Changing Municipal Market Precipitate a Change in the Bond Rating System?

Before the subprime mortgage meltdown and the attendant liquidity crunch, Moody's Public Finance Credit Committee published a report announcing the firm's intent to introduce "a new analytical approach for mapping [municipal] ratings to the global scale used to rate all bonds outside of the U.S. public finance market." It proposed this change to improve transparency and assist "crossover" buyers (that is, buyers who were not traditionally interested in tax-exempt bonds). The Moody's report engendered a spirited and ongoing debate about the role and cost of municipal bond ratings. This session focuses on:

Do recent events support the need for a revised ratings structure?
In what ways does the evolving municipal market necessitate a change in the ratings scale?
Will investors and issuers be affected by a change?
To what extent could a global ratings system reduce state and local borrowing costs?

Moderator:

Nadia Sesay

Finance Director

City and County of San Francisco

Gary Breaux

Director of Finance

East Bay Municipal Utility District

Brad Gewehr

Managing Director-Wealth Management Research

UBS Financial Services, Inc.

Gail Sussman

Group Managing Director for Public Finance

Moody's Investors Service

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch For All Attendees and Speakers

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Changes to Federal Regulation Help Municipal Finance?

Federal law, regulation and enforcement practice imposes different regulatory obligations on municipal securities than it does on corporate securities. Christopher Cox, Chairman of the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission, has discussed widely his concern that the municipal market affords investors inadequate investor safeguards. Recent events, such as the collapse of the market for auction rate securities and other structured investment vehicles, have reinvigorated discussion of the Chairman's concern.

Has the recent turbulence in the municipal marketplace been due to flaws in disclosure? If not, is there a case to conform municipal regulations more closely to those regulations covering corporate issuances?
To what extent are municipal issuances likely to face eroding investor confidence? How can federal regulation improve confidence? Can it stave off further erosion?

Moderator:

Kevin Civale

Shareholder

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

Julia Cooper

Deputy Director of Finance Treasury

City of San Jose

Leslie Norwood

Managing Director/Associate General Counsel

Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association

Rob Yolland

Senior Vice President

Franklin Templeton Investments

2:30 PM - 3:15 PM

Wrap Up

3:15 PM

Close of Pre-Conference Program

Main Conference Agenda

3:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Chairs' Welcome

Michael Stanton

The Bond Buyer

Publisher

Edward De La Rosa

President

De La Rosa & Co.

Donald Hunt

Partner

Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P

Steve Zimmermann

Managing Director

Standard & Poors

3:30 PM - 4:45 PM

Public Finance Summit

As the financial markets move past the subprime crisis and the credit crunch, municipal securities departments at broker-dealers are continuing to search for new business models that will be viable going forward. With UBS and Bear Stearns leaving the picture, which firms will pick up the slack? Are sophisticated products like swaps and Tender-Option Bond programs still viable? What will all of this mean for issuers looking to access the markets? Join us for a panel of the leaders of the major West Coast public finance departments to discuss how their firms are answering these questions and more.

Moderator:

Monique Moyer

Executive Director

Port of San Francisco

Moderator:

Amy B. Resnick

Editor-in-Chief

The Bond Buyer

Mark Adler

Managing Director

Piper Jaffray & Co.

Ed Burdett

Managing Director

Merrill Lynch & Co.

Edward De La Rosa

President

De La Rosa & Co.

Steve Dworkin

Managing Director

JP Morgan

Jerold Gold

Senior Vice President

First Southwest Company

Michael Gomez

Principal

Banc of America Securities LLC

Stephen Heaney

Managing Director

Stone & Youngberg LLC

Robert Larkins

Managing Director

Wedbush Morgan Securities, Inc.

Anthony Taddey

Managing Director

RBC Capital Markets

4:45 PM - 5:30 PM

Why I Bought Municipals - An Investor's Perspective

For a brief moment this Spring, municipals were the highest-yielding investments on Wall Street, as institutions that had borrowed money to buy huge portfolios of tax-exempt bonds leveraged players were forced to dump their holdings to meet margin calls. But some of the market's canniest investors were quick to step into the breach and their huge purchases restored normalcy relatively quickly. We'll talk to some of those buyers to find out what they saw, how long they're holding, and whether they think that crisis is likely to recur.

Moderator:

Kathleen Brown

Managing Director

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Arthur Evans

Head of Municipal Cash Trading

Wells Fargo

Bob Fields

Municipal Product Manager

PIMCO

Terry Goode

Head of Tax Exempt Research

Wells Capital Management

Timothy Haarmann

Vice President

Loomis, Sayles & Company L.P.

Ken Salinger

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager

Charles Schwab Investment Management

Jon Schotz

Senior Advisor

Saybrook Capital L.L.C.

5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

Opening Night Reception

Sponsored by

7:15 PM

Welcome Dinner

[by invitation only] Sponsored by:
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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

7:30 AM - 8:30 AM

Continental Breakfast in the Exhibit Hall

Sponsored by:

7:30 AM - 5:45 PM

Registration Open

8:30 AM - 9:00 AM

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: The State of the State

The Treasurer exerts unequaled influence over California's municipal finance industry. Hear first hand his plans to bolster the economy, guide California out of its slump and restore fiscal stability.

Bill Lockyer

State Treasurer

State of California

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

The Punishing Pump: How Rising Gas Prices Are Impacting Governments and Re-shaping California

California is still car country, so the remarkable, sustained increase in gasoline prices is likely to have an impact on governments throughout the state - from surging costs at transit agencies to declining sales-tax revenues as consumers shift their spending priorities. In the longer term, the surge in gas prices could re-shape everything from the state's transportation needs to its housing mix.

Will prices subside or keep rising?
How are local governments and agencies managing?
Will higher gas prices lead to less traffic?
Are the state's massive ports at risk?

Moderator:

Keith Curry

Managing Director

Public Financial Management, Inc.

Chuck Wolf

Partner

Nixon Peabody LLP

Steve Levy

Director and Senior Economist

Center for Continuing Study of the CA Economy

Brian Mayhew

Chief Financial Officer

Bay Area Toll Authority

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Morning Refreshment and Networking Break

Sponsored by:

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Real Estate Fall-out

Stating that the real estate market has slowed down is generous. How has the slump affected the economic landscape? How are re-valuations impacting governments and school districts' revenue projections? How do schools make up the shortfall from the state budget? How is the rising rate of mortgage delinquencies impacting tax collections? There is a hesitancy to build commercially in areas of high foreclosure rates. How are these concerns mitigated?

Moderator:

Lewis Feldman

Partner

Goodwin Procter LLP

Dick Larsen

Treasurer - Tax Collector

San Bernardino County

Dan McAllister

Treasurer - Tax Collector

San Diego County

Karen Ribble

Director

FitchRatings

Mark Saladino

Treasurer and Tax Collector

Los Angeles County

David Mealy

Principal

Urban Analytics

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

MBIA Live Market Survey

Make your voice heard! For the sixth year, The Bond Buyer/MBIA Live California Market Survey will be conducted on site. The voters will get the last word in November, but make sure you're heard first here by casting your vote on issues ranging from the budgetary reforms to the presidential election AND hear our experts weigh in with their take.

Moderator:

Jason Kissane

Managing Director

MBIA

Willie Brown

Former Mayor

City of San Francisco

John Hallacy

Managing Director

Merrill Lynch & Co.

John Howard

Managing Editor

Capitol Weekly Group

12:30 PM - 1:45 PM

Luncheon with Speaker

Sponsored by:
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Gavin Newsom

Mayor

City of San Francisco

1:50 PM - 3:00 PM

A New Look at Chapter 9

The fiscal crises at Jefferson County, Ala., and the City of Vallejo have cast a new spotlight on the details of the municipal bankruptcy code - for very different reasons. Learn how the rarely-invoked code applies in situations ranging from short-term liquidity crunch like that faced by Jefferson County, and the longer-term liability imbalances Vallejo faced. What incentives exist for governments to avoid bankruptcy filings, and how should their financial professionals assist?

Moderator:

John Trahan

Managing Director

Assured Guaranty Corp.

Arto C. Becker

Partner

Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP

Jordan Kroop

Partner

Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P.

Robert Stout

Finance Director

City of Vallejo

James H. White, III

President

Porter, White & Company, Inc.

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Water

With a severe drought raising the specter of emergency water rationing for much of Southern California, the need to secure and expand the state's water resources is as urgent as ever - and no one project will provide the complete answer. Learn how a mix of financing sources and technologies - from traditional reservoirs and aqueducts to desalination plants - could be used to secure a lush future.

Moderator:

John Sheldon

Managing Director

Morgan Stanley

Gary Breaux

Director of Finance

East Bay Municipal Utility District

Paul Jones

General Manager

Irvine Ranch Water District

Steven Orr

Attorney

Richards, Watson & Gershon

Brian G. Thomas

Assistant General Manager/Chief Financial Officer

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Shari Thomas

Director of Finance & Administration

Pasadena Water & Power

4:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Afternoon Break and Networking Opportunity in the Exhibit Hall

Sponsored by:

4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

Renewable Energy

What role will municipalities play in financing new greenhouse-gas-friendly power-generation facilities, as well as investing to improve the efficiency of government facilities? An alternative approach to some of the previous questions, a panel will focus in on the municipal role in financing sustainable energy projects.

Moderator:

Bill D. Carnahan

Executive Director

Southern California Public Power Authority

Larry Sobel

Partner

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Daniel Hartman

Managing Director

Public Financial Management, Inc.

Girard P. Miller

Co-Head Alternative Energy Group

Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Anne Selting

Director

Standard & Poor's

Jim Tracy

Chief Financial Officer

SMUD

Joseph Yew, Jr.

Finance Director

San Francisco Public Utility Commission

5:45 PM - 7:15 PM