Fitch: US Public Finance Upgrades Outpaced Downgrades in 1Q'16; Outlooks Trending Positive

U.S. public finance upgrades outpaced downgrades for the first quarter of 2016 and Positive Rating Outlooks are on the rise, according to a Fitch Ratings report.

"In 1Q'16 there were 29 upgrades and 19 downgrades, with the par value of the downgrades exceeding that of the upgrades," said Jessalynn Moro, Managing Director of the U.S. Public Finance group. "Downgrades represented approximately 2.7 percent of rating actions and $17.9 billion in par value, while upgrades represented 4.2 percent and $7 billion in par value."

Roughly $16.3 billion of debt was downgraded between the city of Chicago and the Chicago Board of Education, which combined represented 91 percent of downgraded par amount this quarter.

Positive Rating Outlooks are at their highest level since tracking began in 3Q'01 and have increased significantly year-over-year to 128 in 1Q'16 from 84 in 1Q'15. Negative Rating Outlooks are the lowest level since 3Q'08 with 112, a considerable decrease from 162 in 1Q'15.

Negative Rating Watches increased to 21 from 16 in the quarter prior, an increase over the four-quarter average of 18.5.

For more information, a special report titled 'U.S. Public Finance Rating Actions First-Quarter 2016' is available at www.fitchratings.com.

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

U.S. Public Finance Rating Actions First-Quarter 2016

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=880035

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