Inaugural 2026 AGLF Direct Lending Deal of the Year Award

The inaugural 2026 AGLF Direct Lending Deal of the Year Award seeks to honor the most outstanding direct lending or leasing municipal finance transactions of the year involving AGLF members. Nominations are due Monday, February 1, 2027.

Description

AGLF is seeking nominations for the year's most outstanding direct lending or leasing municipal finance deals involving an AGLF member. The AGLF's Board of Directors will select the year's most outstanding direct lending or leasing municipal finance deals from deals nominated by AGLF members. The Board is looking for deals that show creativity and resourcefulness in funding projects that improve infrastructure and quality of life in U.S. municipalities that showcase the range of communities and public purposes in the market, so direct lending or municipal leasing deals of any size, complexity or structure can win.

Eligibility and Nomination Requirements

  • Closing window: The deal must close between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026.
  • Photos: Include photos of the project with the application if available.
  • Nominating statement: One page or less describing
    • Why the deal was done
    •  Why the deal deserves recognition
    •  The deal team
  • Eligibility: In order to be eligible for award, at least one member of the deal team must be a current AGLF member and must attend the AGLF 2027 Annual Conference.

Judging Factors

The AGLF's Board of Directors will weigh a range of factors including:

  • Uniqueness, creativity or the ability to pull a complex transaction together, credits created to meet a specific or ongoing financing need.
  • “Turnaround stories” from issuers that were either long absent from the market or unable to gain market access.
  • Deals that create a new type of financing, bringing new resources to an area where other options were unavailable because of revenue or political obstacles.
  • Deals that establish new types of security, harness previously untapped revenue sources, or open a new sector to financing.
  • Refundings or restructurings that either achieved an otherwise unattainable savings or indenture change goal for the issuer, or use derivatives or other financial tools to reduce risk and/or total debt-service cost.

Key Dates

  • Nominations due: Monday, February1,2027and should be e-mailed to [email protected] with the subject “2026 AGLF Direct Lending Deal of the Year Award Nomination”
  • Winner announced and awarded: AGLF 2027 Annual Conference (must be an AGLF member and in attendance at conference to win)