This course will describe and discuss the advantages of the Ohio Treasurer's STAR Ohio, STAR Plus, and Ohio Market Access Program (OMAP).

The State Treasury Asset Reserve of Ohio (STAR Ohio) is an investment fund that allows government subdivisions—from municipalities to school districts—to invest funds in a highly rated public investment pool.  Since 1995, it has maintained Standard & Poor’s highest rating and given government subdivisions greater returns on their invested funds.  The investment objectives of STAR Ohio are the preservation of capital, the maintenance of liquidity, and providing current income.  STAR Plus is a cash management program that provides Ohio political subdivisions with access to hundreds of FDIC insured banks via one convenient account, offering participants full FDIC insurance up to $100 million per account, a competitive yield, and next day liquidity.

The Ohio Market Access Program (OMAP) is a credit enhancement program offered through the Ohio Treasurer’s office that is designed to lower borrowing costs on short-term notes issued by Ohio schools, cities and local governments.  OMAP leverages the state’s high short-term credit rating to help improve market access for local governments and save money on debt service for Ohio municipal issuers.  OMAP is a first-of-its-kind program designed exclusively to provide credit enhancement on municipal notes.  Municipal notes are currently underserved by the credit enhancement market and OMAP fills this void.  The program solely provides credit enhancement on Ohio municipal notes and does not function as a pool issuance.