Connecticut is the first public-sector issuer to receive a rating from Kroll Bond Ratings, state Treasurer Denise Nappier announced.
Kroll issued a AA rating for the state’s $14 billion of outstanding general obligation bonds, as well as new bonds scheduled for sale in April.
“As a new rating agency, Kroll Bond Ratings brings a fresh perspective to public-sector credit ratings,” Nappier said in a statement. “Competition spurs innovation, and Kroll’s entry into this market can only enhance the evaluation of Connecticut’s credit by encouraging these agencies to be more accountable to issuers and investors alike.”
Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings both assign AA ratings to Connecticut’s GO bonds. Moody’s Investors Service rates them Aa3.
In 2010, Nappier and six other state treasurers called on the U.S. Senate to include a provision in the Dodd-Frank Act that would require the rating of municipal and corporate debt on the same scale. Moody’s and Fitch established new municipal credit rating systems shortly thereafter.
