Summary: Methuen, Massachusetts; General Obligation; Non-School State Programs; Note; School State Program

S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'SP-1+' short-term rating to Methuen, Mass.' general obligation (GO) state qualified deficit financing bond anticipation notes (BANs). At the same time, we affirmed our 'A' long-term rating on the city's outstanding long-term GO debt and the 'SP-1+' on the city's outstanding short-term debt. The outlook, where applicable, is stable. The 'SP-1+' short-term rating on the BANs reflects our rating on the state's qualified bond program (AA/Stable) and our criteria for evaluating and rating BANs. (For more information on the commonwealth's qualified bond program, refer to our analysis, published May 4, 2018, on RatingsDirect). In our view, Methuen maintains a very strong capacity to pay principal and interest when the notes come due. We view the

...S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'SP-1+' short-term rating to Methuen, Mass.' general obligation (GO) state qualified deficit financing bond anticipation notes (BANs). At the same time, we affirmed our 'A' long-term rating on the city's outstanding long-term GO debt and the 'SP-1+' on the city's outstanding short-term debt. The outlook, where applicable, is stable. The 'SP-1+' short-term rating on the BANs reflects our rating on the state's qualified bond program (##/Stable) and our criteria for evaluating and rating BANs. (For more information on the commonwealth's qualified bond program, refer to our analysis, published May 4, 2018, on RatingsDirect). In our view, Methuen maintains a very strong capacity to pay principal and interest when the notes come due. We view the city's market risk profile as low, because the city has strong legal authority to issue long-term debt to take out the notes and is a frequent debt issuer that regularly provides disclosure to market participants. Officials...

Summary