Philadelphia 2017A GO Bonds Assigned 'A+' Rating; Outlook Negative; Other Ratings Affirmed

CHARLOTTESVILLE (S&P Global Ratings) June 22, 2017--S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A+' rating to Philadelphia's series 2017A general obligation (GO) bonds. At the same time, we affirmed our 'A+' rating on the city's GO and GO-parity debt. We also affirmed our 'AA+/A-1+' and 'AA+/A-1' ratings on certain PAID debt, with PNC Bank and TD Bank providing liquidity support. The outlook, where applicable, is negative. "The negative outlook reflects our concerns regarding the city's multiyear deficit trend resulting in reserves we view as weak and what we consider to be a very large unfunded pension liability," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Lisa Schroeer. Potential downward rating action is likely if over the next one-to-two years, the city's reserves weaken beyond

...CHARLOTTESVILLE (S&P Global Ratings) June 22, 2017--S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A+' rating to Philadelphia's series 2017A general obligation (GO) bonds. At the same time, we affirmed our 'A+' rating on the city's GO and GO-parity debt. We also affirmed our '##+/A-1+' and '##+/A-1' ratings on certain PAID debt, with PNC Bank and TD Bank providing liquidity support. The outlook, where applicable, is negative. "The negative outlook reflects our concerns regarding the city's multiyear deficit trend resulting in reserves we view as weak and what we consider to be a very large unfunded pension liability," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Lisa Schroeer. Potential downward rating action is likely if over the next one-to-two years, the city's reserves weaken beyond projections, revenue growth trends weaken, or the pension funding level does not improve. The city's full-faith-and-credit-GO pledge secures the GO bonds. For certain existing debt series, the authority's city agreement revenue...

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