These are debt instruments that allow local, tribal and state government issuers to borrow money in order to fund conservation projects. This is among the lowest-cost public financing since the US Department of Treasury subsidizes the issuer's borrowing cost. QECB are taxable bonds and investors must pay federal taxes on the interest that they receive.

Investors must choose how they restructure these bonds. There are two ways to restructure it: 1. structure the QECB as a tax credit bond (in which the investors will receive federal tax credit instead of interest payments) or 2. structure the QECB as a direct subsidy bond (in which bond issuers receive cash rebates from the US Treasury to subsidize the net interest payments).


Advantages Disadvantages
Substantial amount of cheap capital that can be infused into new or existing programs
Time investment from the issuer is needed
Qualified tribal, local, and state governments can issue debt at low rates
Issuance costs may be high in comparison of capital raised for issuers with small QECB allocations
Allows for private investors
Local and State government may not be interested with taking on debt