$19 million of debt to be issued
New York, August 21, 2012 -- Moody's Rating
Issue: Full Faith and Credit Obligations, Series 2012;
Rating: Aa2; Sale Amount: $19,140,000;
Expected Sale Date: 9/6/12; Rating Description: General
Obligation Limited Tax
Opinion
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Aa2 rating to Clackamas
County, Oregon's Full Faith and Credit Obligations,
Series 2012. The obligations are secured by the county's
full faith and credit pledge of all legally available resources,
and are not subject to appropriation. Proceeds will finance the
county's commitment to Tri-Met for its portion of the Portland
Milwaukie Light Rail extension. Moody's maintains a Aa2 rating
on the county's rated parity debt outstanding in the amount of $99.6
million, and a Aa1 issuer rating. The outlook on the county
is stable.
SUMMARY RATING RATIONALE
The Aa2 rating primarily reflects the county's full faith and credit
pledge as well as general credit characteristics that include a large
tax base despite recent declines in real market value, a still modest
though improved general fund balance, and a low direct debt burden.
The stable rating outlook reflects Moody's expectation that the
county will maintain an adequate general fund balance in accordance with
its policy level and consistent with its rated peers. Moody's
also expects that the county will continue to benefit from participation
in the greater Portland metro economy, and also maintain a favorable
debt profile.
STRENGTHS
- Participation in the Portland (Aaa UTGO rating with stable outlook)
metro area
- Favorable socioeconomic measures
- Low direct debt burden
CHALLENGES
- General fund balance below median for similarly-rated
peers
- Declines in the tax base's real market value amid the regional
housing downturn
WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATING GO UP
- Sustained strengthening of general fund balance
- Protracted and sustainable growth in real market value
- Significant appreciation in socioeconomic measures
WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATING GO DOWN
- Deterioration of the county's financial position
- Substantial, additional declines in real market value
PRINCIPAL RATING METHODOLOGY
The principal methodology used in this rating was General Obligation Bonds
Issued by U.S. Local Governments, published in October
2009. 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
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
Information sources used to prepare the rating are the following:
parties involved in the ratings, parties not involved in the ratings,
public information, confidential and proprietary Moody's Investors
Service's information, and confidential and proprietary Moody's
Analytics' information.
Moody's considers the quality of information available on the rated
entity, obligation or credit satisfactory for the purposes of issuing
a rating.
Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it
uses in assigning a rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's
considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent
third-party sources. However, Moody's is not
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information received in the rating process.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for general disclosure on potential conflicts of interests.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for information on (A) MCO's major shareholders (above 5%) and
for (B) further information regarding certain affiliations that may exist
between directors of MCO and rated entities as well as (C) the names of
entities that hold ratings from MIS that have also publicly reported to
the SEC an ownership interest in MCO of more than 5%. A
member of the board of directors of this rated entity may also be a member
of the board of directors of a shareholder of Moody's Corporation;
however, Moody's has not independently verified this matter.
Please see Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions on the Rating Process
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Please see ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for the last rating action and the rating history.
The date on which some ratings were first released goes back to a time
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on our website www.moodys.com for further information.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Patrick Liberatore
Associate Analyst
Public Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
One Front Street, Suite 1900
San Francisco, CA 94111
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Bryan A. Quevedo
Analyst
Public Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
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JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's assigns Aa2 rating to Clackamas County, Oregon's Full Faith and Credit Obligations, Series 2012