Philadelphia GO Debt Rating Lowered To 'A' On Long-Term Credit Headwinds

NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) March 23, 2018--S&P Global Ratings lowered its rating on Philadelphia's existing general obligation (GO) bonds and parity ratings to 'A' from 'A+'. At the same time, we assigned our 'A' long-term rating to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development's series 2018A revenue bonds and 2018B revenue refunding bonds. In addition, the rating on certain PAID debt with PNC Bank was lowered to 'AA/A-1' from 'AA+/A-1', due to lowered city rating. We also affirmed our 'AA+/A-1+', with TD Bank providing liquidity support. The outlook is stable. "The lowered rating reflects our view of the city's likely longer term credit trajectory as it continues to address the costs associated with managing its pension pressures and School District

...NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) March 23, 2018--S&P Global Ratings lowered its rating on Philadelphia's existing general obligation (GO) bonds and parity ratings to 'A' from 'A+'. At the same time, we assigned our 'A' long-term rating to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development's series 2018A revenue bonds and 2018B revenue refunding bonds. In addition, the rating on certain PAID debt with PNC Bank was lowered to '##/A-1' from '##+/A-1', due to lowered city rating. We also affirmed our '##+/A-1+', with TD Bank providing liquidity support. The outlook is stable. "The lowered rating reflects our view of the city's likely longer term credit trajectory as it continues to address the costs associated with managing its pension pressures and School District of Philadelphia (SDP) costs," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Lisa Schroeer. While there have been concrete improvements with respect to the city's stronger reserve position and pension reforms since we revised the outlook...

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