Bangkok--10 Aug--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it lowered the ratings on certain public finance housing authority issuer credit ratings following the downgrade of the United States of America (AA+/Negative/A-1+; please see "United States of America Long-Term Rating Lowered To 'AA+' On Political Risks And Rising Debt Burden; Outlook Negative," published Aug. 5, 2011, on RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal).
Per our government-related entity (GRE) criteria, the GRE ratings noted in this release are limited by the long-term sovereign rating on the U.S. We also consider other factors, such as our view of the annual appropriation risks for public housing subsidies, the essentiality of the services provided, and the governmental programmatic support, into our stand-alone credit profile ratings.
Pursuant to the GRE criteria, we believe there is a moderate likelihood that public housing authorities would benefit from government support in the event of an extraordinary circumstance. Nonetheless, in our view the lower U.S. sovereign rating no longer supports a one-notch upgrade of the stand-alone credit profile for these affected ratings.
The list of affected ratings is posted athttp://www.standardandpoors.com/ratings/govs-uspf/en/us. Click "Rating Actions On Municipal Housing-Related Issues" and select the tab GRE.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
General Criteria: Rating Government-Related Entities: Methodology And Assumptions, Dec. 9, 2010
Media Contact:
Ola Fadahunsi, New York (1) 212-438-5095,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Valerie White, New York (1) 212-438-2078
Mikiyon Alexander, New York (1) 212-438-2083