Shreveport Affirmed at A3

The $21 million of general obligation refunding bonds being brought to market next week by Shreveport have received an underlying rating of A3 from Moody’s Investors Service. The agency also reaffirmed its A3 rating on the city’s $240 million of outstanding GO debt.

The city of some 200,000 residents in northwest Louisiana expects a 3% net present-value savings from the deal. The bonds are scheduled for rapid repayment with 83% of principal retired in 10 years.

The Moody’s report said that at the end of 2007, the city had a total of $584 million in outstanding debt. Of the total, approximately 29% is floating-rate debt.

Obligations for a convention center include $40 million of auction-rate debt. “Officials state that the most current interest rate remained consistent with prior auctions,” said Moody’s analysts Kristin Button and Dwight Burns.

Approximately 35% of the revenue debt in the water and sewer fund is variable rate.

Shreveport’s existing GO debt is rated A-plus by Standard & Poor’s.

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