Press Release
Upgraded Bond Ratings Give City Good Fiscal Standing
Contact: |
Tom Gardner |
Department: |
Finance |
Phone: |
760.726.1340 ext. 1021 |
Release Date: |
May 26, 2010 |
In accordance with its March 25, 2010 report, Recalibration of U.S. Public Finance Rating, Fitch Ratings, one of the three Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSRO) has recalibrated municipal bonds, including the City of Vista. The recalibration of the bonds listed below is to acknowledge the fiscal health of the City and to correct previously underrated bonds.
• The Vista Community Development Commission (CA) tax allocation bond series 1998 and 2001 were recalibrated from an ‘A-‘ to an ‘A’ rating.
• Vista (CA) (2007 Community Projects) COPs series 2007 was recalibrated from ‘A+’ to ‘AA-‘.
This means that the higher the bond rating, the less expensive it is for the City of Vista to borrow money or buy insurance. Its credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving their money back in accordance with the terms on which they invested.
Fitch Ratings' long-term credit ratings are assigned on an alphabetic scale from 'AAA' to 'D', first introduced in 1924 and later adopted and licensed by Standard & Poor’s. Like S&P, Fitch also uses intermediate +/- modifiers for each category between AA and CCC (e.g., AA+, AA, AA-, A+, A, A-, BBB+, BBB, BBB-, etc.).
Fitch Ratings is an international credit rating agency dual-headquartered in New York City and London. It was one of the three NRSRO’s designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 1975, together with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.
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