Fitch has placed the following state loan pool bond programs which use debt service reserve fund surety bonds from MBIA Insurance Corp. (MBIA) and Ambac Assurance Corp. (Ambac) on Rating Watch Negative:
--Oregon Bond Bank, revenue bonds, rated 'AA';
--New Mexico Finance Authority, subordinate lien public project revolving fund revenue bonds, rated 'AA-'.
In the bond programs above, MBIA and Ambac provide credit enhancement in the form of debt service reserve fund surety bonds, which are sized at the least of maximum annual debt service, 10% of principal, or 125% of average annual debt service. Fitch recently withdrew its rating on MBIA and Ambac and is considering in its reviews on the above loan pool programs how the cash flows are currently performing, their expected performance under various stress scenarios, the likelihood that a claim will be made on the debt service reserve fund surety policy, and other program resources. Fitch is also reevaluating the credit value that Fitch places on the guarantors' abilities to meet their surety bond obligations. In doing so, Fitch will rely on its internal assessments of the guarantors, other agencies opinions, and other market views.
Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, 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.
Contacts:
Adrienne M. Booker, +1-312-368-5471 (Chicago)
David
Litvack, +1-212-908-0593 (New York)
Christopher Kimble,
+1-212-908-0226
(Media Relations, New York)
