NEW YORK - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that U.S. public finance ratings held fairly steady overall in 2011 despite a trend of downgrades in most sectors in the second half of the year in a report.
The report, "U.S. Public Finance Credit Quality Was Stable In 2011, But Downgrades Dominated In The Second Half," notes that while various sector-specific trends contributed to the downgrades, the slow recovery of the economy has also contributed to many of them. However, the percentages of ratings in each rating category are very similar to what they were at the end of 2010, indicating overall stability in the sector. In all sectors, the report continues, careful financial management will be paramount to many entities' rating stability going forward.
