As reported this morning by Triangle Business Journal, Fitch Ratings reaffirmed the State of North Carolina’s strong credit history, issuing an “AA+” rating for a $500 million limited obligation bond that will go to market on February 2nd.
Fitch also affirmed the State’s existing “AA+” rating for appropriation-backed debt ($1.7 billion currently-issued) and “AAA” rating for general obligation debt ($5.3 billion currently-issued). Their report concluded a “stable outlook” for North Carolina’s state-issued debt, given the following observations:
- Low-to-moderate debt burden
- Strong debt management practices, which include an affordability planning process
- Increased reliance on lease appropriation debt
- Pension funding, strongest among the 50 states
- Conservative (comparative) financial operations, with capacity for “prompt” balancing action due to the role the Governor serves as budget director
- Continued maintenance of conservative fiscal and debt management policies
- Anticipated long-term economic growth and diversity, despite recent recession impact
A Fitch press release discussing their findings can be accessed here.