Bangkok--1 Apr--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its issuer credit rating (ICR) and its long-term rating to 'AA' from 'AA-' on Nevada Housing Division's (NHD or the division) debt outstanding. The outlook is stable.The rating is based on our view of NHD's following strengths:
The extremely high quality and very low-risk profile of its asset base;
Low nonperforming assets (NPAs) despite the state of Nevada having one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country;
Low general obligation (GO) debt, at less than 1% of total debt;
Low risk debt profile consisting of 88% multifamily and 60% single-family debt that is fixed rate, and almost all of its variable-rate debt is guaranteed by 'AAA' eligible government sponsored entities (GSE) and other rated letters of credit (LOCs); and
Active management team with strong legislative support.
"In our view, NHD's generally high credit strength is derived from NHD's high reserve levels and asset growth, which we expect to be sufficient to allow it to continue its role in providing affordable housing for state residents in strong or precarious real estate and financial markets," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Aranzasu De La O.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
USPF Criteria: U.S. Public Housing Authority Issuer Credit Rating, Nov. 13, 2007
Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com. Use the Ratings search box located in the left column.
Media Contact:
Ana Sandoval, New York (1) 212-438-5095,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Aranzasu De La O, San Francisco
Lawrence Witte, San Francisco