Downgrades made up 83% of Moody's Investors Service public finance ratings changes in the second quarter of this year, the ratings agency said.
Of the 264 changes made during the quarter, 219 were downgrades. The percentage of downgrades was roughly the same during the first quarter, Moody's said.
The par amount of public finance debt downgraded in the second quarter was $97 billion, an increase from $27 billion in the previous quarter.
More than half of the second quarter total came from a few large issuers. The largest action was the downgrade of $32 billion of Illinois general obligation and sales tax bonds to A3 from A2. Moody's said the downgrade was triggered by the state's continued pension funding burdens and the looming expiration of income tax increases.
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