...S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A' rating to Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development's (PAID) series 2019 lease revenue refunding bonds, issued for the city of Philadelphia. The outlook is stable. The rating reflects an improved financial position, supported in part by strong revenue growth, coupled with continued focus on pension funding, school district support, and reserve balance growth. The city continues to face challenges with respect to pensions and pockets of poverty. Its pension position and payment discipline have improved, while the overall funded level remains low, although actions taken to address longer-term instability, such as lowering the discount assumption rate, somewhat offset the lack of growth in the funded level, in our view. Economic growth has underpinned much of the improvement for Philadelphia, but we believe if there is a turn in the economic cycle, it could test the recent trends for the city. While we would not anticipate continued strong growth...
