PHOENIX- Washington will issue $673 million of highly-rated general obligation bonds next week.
The bonds will be sold competitively in two series Jan. 20, according to the preliminary official statement. One series will be about $529.4 million of GO refunding bonds and the other will be $143.6 million of motor vehicle fuel tax GO refunding bonds. The bonds carry ratings of AA-plus from Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, and an Aa1 rating from Moody's Investors Service. Foster Pepper is bond counsel on the deal.
Moody's said that while Washington's debt levels are higher than the national average, the state's strong economy has held its rating up. The state has a debt portfolio of nearly $20 billion.
"Washington's debt ratios are more than twice Moody's 2015 50-state median level; net tax-supported debt as a percentage of personal income is 6.2%, compared with Moody's 50-state median of 2.5%," Moody's noted. "Despite the significant increase in total debt outstanding during the previous decade, the debt-to-personal income ratio has remained fairly stable due to Washington's strong personal income growth."
The state has scheduled another sale of more than $500 million of GO bonds in February.
