Nevada Plans $200M Refunding

Fitch Ratings affirmed AA-plus rating ahead of Nevada's plans on March 7 to refund $200 million in general obligation limited tax bonds.

The state will refund five series of bonds for debt service savings in a competitive bid process.

The rating agency also affirmed the AA-plus rating on $2 billion in outstanding GOLTs and $5.9 million in OLT certificates series 2009 from the Nevada Real Property Corp. It affirmed the AA rating for $45.7 million in outstanding lease revenue bonds.

Fitch cited the state's conservative financial management that has provided a balanced budget even though the state's real estate markets were among the hardest hit.

Nevada's debt is only a moderate burden on resources and is supported by a separate statewide property tax levy, which, during the extended period of tax base growth that preceded the recession, produced revenues in excess of what was needed for debt service, analysts said.

The state's reserve fund to cover debt service equaled 92% as of June 30, 2012, according to the report.

Moody's Investors Service affirmed its Aa2 rating to the refunding citing the state's relatively low debt levels, strong financial best practices and strong liquidity and cash management, offset by a high concentration in gambling and tourism and a low level of reserves.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Nevada
MORE FROM BOND BUYER