Fitch Ratings last year had more positive ratings than negative ones in United States public finance for the first time since 2008.
While in 2013 there were two downgrades for every one upgrade, in 2014 there were 0.7 downgrades for every one upgrade. Fitch senior director Charlotte Needham and senior director Olu Sonola reported the findings Tuesday in "U.S. Public Finance 2014 Transition and Default Study."
In the U.S. public sector 3.4% of issuers were downgraded and 4.9% were upgraded last year.
In the tax supported public sector 3.9% of issuers were downgraded and 4.1% were downgraded. The tax supported public sector accounts for 57% of Fitch's public finance ratings.
The nonprofit healthcare, tax-exempt housing, and utilities sectors all saw more upgrades than downgrades. For example, 8.1% of healthcare issuers were upgraded, while 3.9% of them were downgraded.
Only the education and nonprofit sector had more downgrades, 3%, than upgrades, 1.5%.
Fitch expects most public finance security ratings to maintain stable outlooks in 2015. It is somewhat more negative on utilities and healthcare facilities than it is on state and local governments.
