Bangkok--24 Nov--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA-' rating to Colorado's series 2009 Higher Education Capital Construction Lease Purchase Financing Program certificates of participation (COPs). Standard & Poor's also assigned its 'AA-' rating to the state's series 2009 refunding COPs, issued for University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center Fitzsimons Academic Projects. Standard & Poor's also affirmed the state's 'AA' issuer credit rating (ICR) and its 'AA-' underlying rating (SPUR) on the state's other lease and COPs debt. The outlook is stable.
"The state continues to exhibit better-than-average income, employment, and population trends despite the national recession," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Matthew Reining. "Moreover, the ratings reflect the state's history of making necessary midyear budget corrections, triggered by updated quarterly revenue forecasts, and its good recent financial performance."
The series 2009 COPs are payable from legally available moneys of the state that are annually appropriated as base rental payments under a master lease agreement. Subject to annual appropriation, the state's obligation to pay base rentals is absolute and unconditional and the lease is not subject to abatement.
RELATED RESEARCH
USPF Criteria: "GO Debt," Oct. 12, 2006
USPF Criteria: "Appropriation-Backed Obligations," June 13, 2007
Complete ratings information is available to RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal subscribers at www.globalcreditportal.com and RatingsDirect subscribers 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. Use the Ratings search box located in the left column.
Media Contact:
Ana Sandoval, New York (1) 212-438-5095,
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Analyst Contacts:
Matthew Reining, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5044
David G Hitchcock, New York (1) 212-438-2022
Key Contacts:
Americas Media Relations: (1) 212-438-6667
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Americas Customer Service: (1) 212-438-7280
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