Bangkok--23 Sep--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA-' rating to the San Francisco City & County, Calif.'s series 2011A and 2011B refunding certificates of participation, or COPs (Moscone Center Refunding Project), and its 'AA' rating to the city's series 2011-R1 general obligation (GO) refunding bonds. At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'AA-' long-term rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on the city's certificates of participation (COPs) and lease revenue bonds outstanding and its 'AA' rating and SPUR on the city's other GO bonds. The outlook is negative.
"The GO rating reflects our view of the city's central role in the dynamic San Francisco Bay Area, recurring budget deficits and history of balancing the current-year budget sufficient to maintain its general reserve required by board policy, and strong financial management assessment, including regular budget monitoring and expanded forecasting to five years from three," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Misty Newland
The rating on the COPs and lease revenue bonds is one notch lower than the GO bond rating to reflect the appropriation risk associated with appropriation-backed obligations.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
USPF Criteria: Appropriation-Backed Obligations, June 13, 2007
USPF Criteria: GO Debt, Oct. 12, 2006
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:
Ola Fadahunsi, New York (1) 212-438-5095,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Misty Newland, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5073
Chris Morgan, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5032