The Delaware River Port Authority received upgrades from Moody’s Investors Service on two variable rate debt issues backed by bank letters of credit.
Moody’s on Monday elevated the authority’s 2008B revenue bonds to Aa1 from Aa2, and the 2010B revenue bonds to Aa3 from A1.
“We have worked hard over the past decade to demonstrate our commitment to prudent stewardship over our financial assets,” said James White, the authority’s chief financial officer and treasurer.
The Camden, New Jersey-based regional transportation authority operates the Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry and Betsy Ross bridges, all of which cross the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Barry Bridge connects to Chester, Pennsylvania, the others to Philadelphia.
Through its Port Authority Transit Corp., or PATCO, the authority also operates a transit line between Camden County, New Jersey, and Center City Philadelphia. Moody’s cited its annual review of the “joint default analysis,” which reflects Moody’s approach to rating jointly supported transactions such as letter of credit-backed bonds.
The JDA rating assigned to the DRPA bonds resulted in a decrease in the default dependence between the Barclays Bank plc and the DRPA from moderate to low, which results in credit risk consistent with JDA rating of Aa3 for the bonds.
Moody’s last October upgraded the underlying rating on all of the authority’s long-term bond debt, increasing the ratings on the authority’s revenue bonds to A2 from A3, and upgrading its Port District Project Bonds to Baa2 from Baa3. both with a stable outlook.
At that time, Moody’s pointed to positive momentum in bridge traffic volumes, the DRPA’s strong liquidity position and reserves, good expenditure control, and the authority’s ability to execute and fund its five-year capital plan through its internally generated and pay-as-you-go capital funds, with no additional debt financing.
