North Platte, NE GO Bond Rating Lowered To 'A' From 'AA-' On Weakened Flexibility And Budget Performance

CHICAGO (S&P Global Ratings) Dec. 14, 2016--S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term rating on North Platte, Neb.'s existing general obligation (GO) debt to 'A' from 'AA-'. The outlook is negative. "The lowered rating reflects our view of the city's weakened budgetary flexibility and budgetary performance," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst David Smith. "The negative outlook reflects our expectation that the city's budgetary flexibility will likely remain very weak within the two-year outlook horizon and that there is a one-in-three chance of a lowered rating within the next two years," Mr. Smith added. We consider North Platte's economy weak. The city, with an estimated population of 24,384, is located in Lincoln County. RELATED RESEARCH S&P Public Finance Local GO Criteria:

...CHICAGO (S&P Global Ratings) Dec. 14, 2016--S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term rating on North Platte, Neb.'s existing general obligation (GO) debt to 'A' from '##-'. The outlook is negative. "The lowered rating reflects our view of the city's weakened budgetary flexibility and budgetary performance," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst David Smith. "The negative outlook reflects our expectation that the city's budgetary flexibility will likely remain very weak within the two-year outlook horizon and that there is a one-in-three chance of a lowered rating within the next two years," Mr. Smith added. We consider North Platte's economy weak. The city, with an estimated population of 24,384, is located in Lincoln County. RELATED RESEARCH + S&P Public Finance Local GO Criteria: How We Adjust Data For Analytic Consistency, Sept. 12, 2013 + 2015 Update Of Institutional Framework For U.S. Local Governments Certain terms used in this report, particularly certain adjectives used to express...

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