Metropolitan District Hartford County, CT's GO Debt Downgraded To 'AA' On Financial Distress Exposure; Outlook Negative

BOSTON (S&P Global Ratings) Oct. 20, 2016--S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term rating on Metropolitan District Hartford County (MDC), Conn.'s general obligation (GO) bonds, to 'AA' from 'AA+'. The outlook is negative. "The downgrade reflects the MDC's exposure to the City of Hartford's financial distress," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Christina Marin. "In our view, the city's financial imbalance, combined with MDC's elevated debt and a persistently challenging economy, no longer supports the 'AA+' rating. The negative outlook reflects the ongoing uncertainty of Hartford's financial condition and the risks it could present to MDC operations," Ms. Marin added. The city represents 26% of MDC's tax base, and remits 6.7% of total governmental funds revenue. The negative outlook signals that

...BOSTON (S&P Global Ratings) Oct. 20, 2016--S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term rating on Metropolitan District Hartford County (MDC), Conn.'s general obligation (GO) bonds, to '##' from '##+'. The outlook is negative. "The downgrade reflects the MDC's exposure to the City of Hartford's financial distress," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Christina Marin. "In our view, the city's financial imbalance, combined with MDC's elevated debt and a persistently challenging economy, no longer supports the '##+' rating. The negative outlook reflects the ongoing uncertainty of Hartford's financial condition and the risks it could present to MDC operations," Ms. Marin added. The city represents 26% of MDC's tax base, and remits 6.7% of total governmental funds revenue. The negative outlook signals that there is a one-in-three chance we could lower our rating over our two-year outlook horizon. S&P Global Ratings also assigned its '##' rating and negative outlook to Hartford MDC's series 2016C...

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