Bangkok--10 Sep--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA-' long-term rating to the University of California Board of Regents' $600 million series 2010E and 2010F limited project revenue bonds. Additionally, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'AA' and 'AA-' long-term and underlying ratings (SPURs) on the Regents of the University of California's various outstanding revenue debt. Finally, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'A-1+' short-term rating on the regents' commercial paper (CP) note program, which is authorized up to $2 billion and currently has $512 million outstanding.
"The rating reflects our view of the overall strength of the University of California system, which we view as very strong with growing demand at all 10 operating campuses," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Jessica Matsumori. "Further supporting the rating is the system's self-supporting nature as well as its history of successfully weathering multiple business and state funding cycles."
We understand that the series 2010E and F bonds are expected to be issued as fixed rate obligations. According to management, proceeds will be used to refund a portion of existing debt and provide approximately $520 million of new money (tax-exempt and taxable BABs) to fund a variety of projects across five campuses, including housing, parking, and athletic facilities.
Chartered in 1868, the UC currently operates on 10 campuses (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco), providing instruction to more than 220,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The system is governed by a 26-member Board of Regents, 18 of who are appointed by the governor and approved by a majority vote of the State Senate.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
General Criteria: Enhanced Methodology And Assumptions For Rating Government-Related Entities, June 29, 2009
USPF Criteria: Commercial Paper, VRDO, And Self-Liquidity, July 3, 2007
USPF Criteria: Higher Education, June 19, 2007
Complete ratings information is available to RatingsDirect subscribers on the Global Credit Portal 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,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Jessica Matsumori, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5083
Geraldine Poon, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5078