Fitch Publishes Rating Criteria for SHFA General Obligations

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fitch Ratings has published a sector-specific report for rating state housing finance agency (SHFA) general obligation (GO) creditworthiness.

The report identifies factors considered by Fitch in assigning ratings to SHFA GO within the scope of the criteria. No changes to the ratings of existing GOs are anticipated as a result of the publication of the rating criteria.

Fitch has identified four key rating drivers that affect the credit quality of SHFAs general obligations:

Sufficiency of Financial Resources:

Fitch reviews an agency's leverage ratios, capital base and profitability margins to measure and evaluate the quality and stability of a SHFA's financial resources. The financial ratios facilitate comparison of an SHFA's financial performance and position with those of its peers in the public finance housing industry.

SHFA Risk Profile:

The risks associated with a SHFA's bond programs, including asset, debt and operational risks; create potential volatility to the agency's revenue stream. Fitch assesses the impact that those risks may have on the overall financial health of the SHFA and the impact, if any, on the SHFA's ability to honor its GO pledge commitments.

Programmatic Oversight:

Fitch considers the level of programmatic oversight provided by the SHFA. The strength of oversight capabilities may affect the degree to which a SHFA identifies and corrects programmatic, financial or economic problems to protect the agency's long-term credit quality. Strong management will result in more consistent financial performance.

Government and Agency Relationships:

A SHFA's ongoing relationship with the state's executive and legislative branches is taken into consideration when assessing the agency's ability to maintain excess funds in its general fund. State governments have periodically requested various amounts from the respective SHFA's excess funds. These transfers, depending on the amount and timing, may have an immediate and negative effect on an agency's overall creditworthiness.

The criteria report outlines how Fitch evaluates these factors in its rating analysis of SHFA's general obligations.

The report is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

State Housing Finance Agencies General Obligation Rating Criteria

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=877633

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160224006101/en/

Fitch Ratings
Charles Giordano
Senior Director
+1-212-908-0607
Fitch Ratings, Inc.
33 Whitehall Street
New York, NY 10004
or
Maura McGuigan
Senior Director
+1-212-908-0591
or
Media Relations:
Elizabeth Fogerty, +1 212-908-0526
[email protected]

Source: Fitch Ratings

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Bell Medical Announces Partnership with Feellife
• Summit Growth Group Announces Launch to Help Broadband Providers Accelerate Customer Acquisition
• Is Fortuno Markets Safe? Here Are Its Key Fund Protection Systems