Research Update: Seoul Metropolitan Government Ratings Raised To 'AA-/A-1+' Following Sovereign Upgrade; Outlook Stable

On Sept. 15, we raised our long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating on Korea to 'AA-'. We are raising our long-term foreign and local currency issuer credit ratings on SMG to 'AA-' and our short-term issuer credit ratings to 'A-1+'. The outlook is stable. The rating action on SMG indicates the removal of the effect of the sovereign rating cap, allowing SMG's SACP to be the final rating. On Sept. 15, 2015, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services raised to 'AA-' from 'A+' its long-term foreign and local currency issuer credit ratings on Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG). We also raised our short-term foreign and local currency ratings on SMG to 'A-1+' from 'A-1'. The outlook on the long-term ratings is stable.

...Key Rating Factors Institutional framework Evolving but balanced Economy Strong Financial management Strong Budgetary flexibility Average Budgetary performance Strong Liquidity Exceptional Debt burden Low Contingent liabilities Moderate *Standard & Poor's ratings on local and regional governments are based on eight main rating factors listed in the table above. Section A of Standard & Poor's "Methodology For Rating Non-U.S. Local And Regional Governments," published June 30, 2014, summarizes how the eight factors combine to produce the rating....

Research Update