May 1 (Bloomberg) — New Jersey's credit rating was lowered one step by Fitch Ratings, which cited an $807 million revenue shortfall and Governor Chris Christie's likely use of one-time measures to plug the gap.
The firm lowered the state's general obligation debt to A+, saying revenue forecasts were "overly optimistic." Fitch also expressed concern over "both the scale and belatedness" of the shortfall, with two months left in the fiscal year. A+ is the fifth-highest investment grade and Fitch maintained a negative outlook on the state's credit.
The move affects $2.4 billion in general obligation bonds and Fitch also cut its ratings on $32 billion in other debt. It marked the second time the ratings company has lowered New Jersey since Christie took office in January 2010. Standard & Poor's cut New Jersey's rating twice and Moody's Investors Service has also lowered its ranking.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
