Fitch Rates New York State Environmental Facilities Corp.'s Extendable Muni CP 'F1+'
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CHICAGO--(Business Wire)-- Fitch Ratings assigns an 'F1+' rating to the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp.'s (EFC) extendable municipal commercial paper (EMCP) notes (series 1) program in an aggregate authorized amount not to exceed $200 million. The issuance of the series 1 notes, expected within the next 60 days, represents EFC's initial utilization of EMCP. Note proceeds will reimburse EFC for the cost of acquiring loans for its clean water and drinking water state revolving fund (SRF) program. The proceeds of the EMCP program may also refund future EMCP notes and pay costs of issuance. The 'F1+' rating reflects the solid program structure and a significant amount of available liquidity to redeem the EMCP if necessary. The rating is also based on the strong underlying credit quality and market access of the Master Financing Indenture (MFI) SRF program bonds (senior and subordinate lien rated 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook by Fitch), which are expected to be issued to fund the notes. The EMCP will have original maturities from one to 90 days from the original issue date of each note. However, EFC reserves the right to extend the maturity up to 270 days from and including the original issue date. If the notes are extended to the extended maturity date, the interest rate would be reset based on a formula tied to the SIFMA and the program's EMCP rating. The EMCP notes are secured by proceeds of notes or other obligations issued by EFC, loan recipient obligations that are an expected repayment source, pledged recipient payments and a subordinate lien on released (or de-allocated) reserves from the bonds issued under EFC's master trust agreement including the senior and subordinate MFI pooled program and the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority program. De-allocated reserves are then held in the equity fund. EFC maintains a strong equity fund balance which averages $713 million weekly. These amounts provide significant protection to EMCP note holders if needed. The MFI's 'AAA' program bond ratings reflect a diversified loan portfolio of 356 participants and strong debt service reserves to offset any loan defaults. MFI reserves currently total $794 million (or 39.7% of MFI bond principal outstanding). Fitch also rates EFC's New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority (NYCMWFA) senior lien program bonds 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook. The rating is based on the credit quality of the NYCMWFA and the strong payment interruption tolerance from substantial reserves, which total $1.8 billion or 44% of outstanding EFC NYCMWFA senior bond principal. To date, the EFC has not had a borrower default on its loan repayment obligations, so no draws have ever been made on dedicated reserves. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. Fitch Ratings Adrienne M. Booker, 312-368-5471, Chicago Laura Porter, 212-908-0575, New York or Media Relations: Cindy Stoller, 212-908-0526, New York Email: cindy.stoller@fitchratings.com Copyright Business Wire 2009
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