APPROXIMATELY $40,000,000 IN DEBT AFFECTED
New York, May 04, 2012 -- Moody's Rating
Issue: Certificates of Participation 2012A; Rating: A1;
Sale Amount: $40,000,000; Expected Sale
Date: 5-17-2012; Rating Description: Lease
Rental: Abatement
Opinion
Moody's Investors Service has assigned an A1 rating to the City and County
of San Francisco's Certificates of Participation, Series 2012A (Multiple
Capital Improvement Projects). Our long term outlook on the city's
ratings is stable.
RATING RATIONALE
The rating reflects the city's strong resident wealth levels and exceptionally
large and diverse tax base that is a key segment of the greater Bay Area
economy. The city's financial position has improved but is still
not robust; its strong budgetary control is a mitigating factor to
a still narrow fiscal position. San Francisco's moderate debt burden
and modest exposure to variable rate debt are also incorporated into the
rating.
The bonds are secured by base rental payments to be made by the City of
San Francisco to the trustee for use and occupancy of the leased assets.
The city covenants to budget and appropriate lease payments so long as
it has use and occupancy of these assets. The leased assets include
the Link and East Residence buildings, which have been renamed the
Pavilion and North Residence buildings on the campus of the City's
Laguna Honda Hospital. The buildings have a combined estimated
value of $309 million. This borrowing combined with preexisting
borrowings of 2009A ($153 million), 2009B ($36.1
million) obligations represent approximately $232 million leveraged
against the leased assets.
The two notch rating distinction between the A1 rating on the current
offering and the city's Aa2-rated general obligation bonds represents
Moody's standard notching differential for fixed-asset leases relative
to a California issuer's general obligation rating. Broadly speaking
the two notches reflect the risk of abatement and the narrower,
general fund security pledge for leases compared to the very strong,
voter-approved unlimited property tax pledge securing California
general obligation bonds.
STRENGTHS
Large, diverse tax base
Strong resident wealth levels
Conservatively structured debt portfolio
CHALLENGES
Improved but still narrow financial position
Increasing operating and personnel costs
Outlook
Our outlook for the city's long-term ratings is stable.
This outlook recognizes that the city's large, diverse tax base
is fundamentally sound. The outlook also reflects the city's still
narrow though improving financial position. It incorporates the
efforts the city is making to attain structural balance and rebuild its
reserves, but also the distance it needs to go in order to achieve
and maintain a positive financial trend and a healthy and resilient financial
position. The city's conservative debt profile also contributes
to the stable outlook on the city's ratings
WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATING GO UP
Attaining and maintaining a strong financial position
Sustained economic and assessed value growth
WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATING GO DOWN
Weakening financial position
Deteriorating socioeconomic factors
The principal methodology used in this rating was The Fundamentals of
Credit Analysis for Lease-Backed Municipal Obligations published
in October 2004. Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
The Global Scale Credit Ratings on this press release that are issued
by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU are endorsed by Moody's
Investors Service Ltd., One Canada Square, Canary Wharf,
London E 14 5FA, UK, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph
3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies.
Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's
office that has issued a particular Credit Rating is available on www.moodys.com.
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
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the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Michael Wertz
Analyst
Public Finance Group
Moody's FIS Domestic Sales Office - San Francisco CA
One Sansome St. Suite 3100
San Francisco, CA 94104
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Eric Hoffmann
Senior Vice President
Public Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
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JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
MOODY'S ASSIGNS A1 RATING TO CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO'S (CA) CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION, SERIES 2012A (MULTIPLE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS)