Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it raised the ratings on the general obligation bonds issued by 15 municipalities in Washington and Oregon that were previously constrained by their small size or remote location.
"These upgrades reflect our continued review of issuers for whom the significance of their small size and more-remote location has lessened in our analysis," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Lisa Schroeer.
"We believe that these entities reflect traits of a higher credit quality than previously assigned because of their good financial performance record," said Ms. Schroeer in the report, "Criteria Revision Bumps Up Several Pacific Northwest Ratings," published on RatingsDirect. Many of these municipalities have seen strong growth in revenues over the past several years and this has led to healthy financial positions that we believe will provide some cushion to weather the current economic downturn, she said.
The upgraded municipalities in Oregon are North Bend, Dalles, and Albany, while those in Washington are Woodinville, Edgewood, Washougal, Normandy Park, Kittitas County, Jefferson County, Ocean Shores, Mason County, Lynden, Fife, Moses Lake, and Centralia.
The reports are 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. If you are not a RatingsDirect subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by calling (1) 212-438-9823 or sending an e-mail to research_request@standardandpoors.com. Ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; under Credit Ratings in the left navigation bar, select Find a Rating, then Credit Ratings Search. Members of the media may request copies of these reports by contacting the media representative provided.
Media Contact:
Edward Sweeney, New York, (1) 212-438-6634
edward_sweeney@standardandpoors.com
Analyst Contacts:
Lisa Schroeer, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5006
Misty Newland, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5073
Gabriel Petek, CFA, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5042
Chris Morgan, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5032 |
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