NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) March 13, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services has raised its short-term ratings on 32 joint standby purchase agreement-backed municipal issues to 'A-1+' from 'A-1' and 'A-2'. This action is based on the application of joint support criteria. The long-term ratings are based solely on the underlying bonds. The short-term ratings are based on the joint support of a standby purchase agreement provided by Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank AG ('A-/A-2') and a guarantee provided by Merrill Lynch&Co. Inc. ('A+/A-1'). Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard&Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard&Poor's public Web site at
