Bangkok--24 Dec--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook to positive from stable and affirmed its 'AA' issuer credit rating (ICR), long-term rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on Alaska Housing Finance Corporation's (AHFC) outstanding bonds. In addition, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'AA/A-1+' and 'A-1+' ratings on AHFC's outstanding debt.
"The positive outlook reflects the size of AHFC's equity reserves, which are expected to be sufficient to allow the corporation to continue its role in providing affordable housing for state residents in strong and precarious real estate and financial markets," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Larry Witte. "The outlook also reflects the state of Alaska's GO bond rating and outlook. Should AHFC's unrestricted equity remain in excess of potential needs that it might be called to cover, and that the loans perform well in the near future, the rating could be raised."
AHFC continues to exhibit extremely high equity and comfortable measures of leverage that are substantially higher than those of any other housing finance agency (HFA) to which Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigns ICRs. AHFC's equity base is amongst the highest of all housing finance authorities (HFAs). AHFC's mortgage loan portfolio has high risk characteristics, but the performance of those loans is very strong despite the national mortgage downturn; Alaska is among the lowest-ranking states in terms of foreclosure rates.
The state of Alaska's economy depends heavily on oil and gas extraction. Other risk factors include a geographic concentration of mortgaged properties and slightly riskier, less marketable property types. The properties are located primarily in and around Anchorage, with the balance scattered throughout various regions of the state, including Wasilla/Palmer and Fairbanks.
Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; select your preferred country or region, then Ratings in the left navigation bar, followed by Credit Ratings Search.
Media Contact:
Edward Sweeney, New York (1) 212-438-6643, [email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Lawrence Witte, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5037
Karen Fitzgerald, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5023