TEXT-Fitch rates Corpus Christi Business and Job Development, Texas bonds 'AA-'

July 3 - Fitch Ratings assigns an 'AA-' rating to the following Corpus
Christi Business and Job Development Corporation (the corporation), Texas'
bonds:

--$31.5 million sales tax revenue refunding bonds, series 2012 (Seawall
project).

In addition, Fitch affirms the following outstanding sales tax bonds:

--$11.9 million sales tax revenue bonds (baseball stadium project), series 2004
at 'AA';
--$37.5 million sales tax revenue bonds (arena project), series 2002 at 'AA-';
--$33.2 million sales tax revenue bonds (Seawall project), series 2001 at 'AA-'
(pre-refunding).

The series 2012 bonds are scheduled to sell July 11 via negotiation. Proceeds
will be used to refund the outstanding Seawall project bonds (series 2001) for
debt service savings and pay related costs of issuance.

The Rating Outlook is Stable.

SECURITY:

The bonds are secured by a first lien from voter-approved, dedicated 1/8 of 1%
sales tax levies for the baseball stadium, arena, and seawall projects. The
higher rating for the baseball stadium sales tax bonds reflects the stronger
debt service coverage and shorter maturity schedule.

KEY RATING DRIVERS:

MODEST IMPROVEMENT OF SALES TAX BOND COVERAGE: Strong sales tax performance that
continues to exceed budget has bolstered revenues to pre-recessionary levels.
Subsequently, debt service coverage has improved modestly, but remains generally
in line with historic norms.

ECONOMIC SECTORS EXPANDING: Much of the current commercial/industrial
development underway or planned revolves around the large petrochemical
industries, refineries, associated oil/gas support industries, and shipping/port
activity that have traditionally anchored the Corpus Christi economy. The city
serves as a regional employment center, and while not immune from the effects of
the economic downturn, unemployment rates have remained below state and national
averages.

CITY'S STABLE FINANCIAL PROFILE: General fund reserves remain comfortably above
the city's minimum 10% fund balance policy, enabled by management's conservative
and prudent financial practices. General fund liquidity is sufficient. The
maintenance of sizable reserves in each of the sales tax funds provides a
cushion against possible downward economic pressures and subsequent slowdowns in
sales tax collections.

DIVERSE TAX BASE: Modest TAV growth in fiscal 2012 reversed the prior year's 4%
loss; a moderate gain is projected for fiscal 2013. The city's tax base is
diverse, generally stable, and has historically experienced healthy rates of
growth. Taxpayer concentration is minimal.

BELOW AVERAGE SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS: Area population growth trends are
modest and below those of the state; income/wealth levels are below state and
national levels.

MODERATELY HIGH OVERALL DEBT: Overall debt levels are moderately high, although
the city's debt profile is characterized as moderate, aided by considerable
self-supporting debt. No further leverage of any of the dedicated sales taxes is
planned.

CREDIT PROFILE

In two separate votes, city residents approved three individual dedicated sales
tax levies, equal to 1/8 of 1% each, for tourism projects: a 10,000 seat arena
adjacent to the city's existing downtown convention center, seawall improvements
along the city's bay front, and a 5,000 seat minor league baseball stadium. The
arena serves as a home venue for several sporting teams and the men's and
women's basketball teams of Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, and is also a
venue for concerts and convention center related events. The stadium has been
leased to Round Rock Baseball Inc., owners of the Corpus Christi Hooks, an 'AA'
franchise of the Houston Astros. Under the terms of the 15-year lease, the
company serves as the exclusive manager and operator of the stadium and is
responsible for the operations and maintenance of the facility. The arena and
seawall taxes were approved in 2000 to be levied for 25 years and the stadium
tax was approved in 2002 for 15 years.

The corporation was established in April 2000, and its purpose is to administer
business development and job creation within the city. The five-member board of
directors is appointed by the city council for two-year terms. The city
maintains oversight and control of corporation financial and debt activities,
including the issuance of corporation debt.

STRENGTHENED SALES TAX PERFORMANCE MODESTLY BOOST COVERAGE
Given strong, recent sales tax revenue trends that have exceeded budgeted since
fiscal 2011 and relatively level debt service for all series through maturity,
coverage has improved modestly but generally remains in line with historical
trends. All three taxes are applied to the same transactions as the city's
general purpose sales tax. The baseball stadium sales tax bonds enjoy higher
coverage levels, equal to approximately 2.4x based on fiscal 2011 sales tax
collections. Coverage for the arena project sales tax bonds is around 1.5x while
the series 2012 Seawall project sales tax refunding bonds project a slightly
higher coverage levels of 1.8x given the additional debt service savings.

Sales tax revenue performance has historically been steady with an average
annual increase of 2.4% over fiscal years 2006-2011. Nonetheless, recent growth
trends have been strong, returning to pre-recessionary highs registered in
fiscal 2008 and 2009. Each dedicated sales tax levy generated about $5.6 million
in fiscal 2011, which is up nearly 10% from a comparable decline in fiscal 2010.
Year-to-date sales tax revenue trends for fiscal 2012 also remain strong with
monthly collections as of May 2012 exceeding the prior year by about 13%.
Additional gains made in sales tax revenues may improve coverage over the near
term, although further financial flexibility is maintained through the
availability of sizable reserves in each of the sales tax funds.

ECONOMIC EXPANSION EVIDENT
Situated on the Gulf Coast, Corpus Christi is the eighth largest city in Texas
and serves as the regional economic center for a 12-county area. With
unemployment registering 6.3% as of February 2012, the city has experienced
solid year-to-date employment gains that have outpaced local labor force growth,
exceeding those of the state and U.S. Local wealth levels are below average,
although area cost of living is relatively low.

The city's economic base consists primarily of petrochemical and shipping,
tourism, agriculture, higher education and the military. Fitch considers the
diversity of the area economy a positive credit factor as it can more easily
weather economic disruption in specific sectors. Management reports various
commercial/industrial projects underway or planned, which generally will
capitalize upon the area's traditional economic strength in the energy sector
and associated industries. Of note is the Las Brisas development (a coke-fired
electric power plant) which will eventually be added to the city's tax rolls and
Tianjin Pipe (a steel pipe mill), a $2 billion project adjacent to the Port of
Corpus Christi (the port) that has recently broken ground. It is projected to be
one of the largest Chinese investments in the U.S., adding 600 permanent jobs to
the area. In addition, there has reportedly been an uptick in economic activity
given the city's location adjacent to a relatively recent oil/gas reserve
discovery (the Eagle-Ford Shale) and its role in oil/gas shipping, processing,
and support industries.

The port ranks as the sixth largest in the nation and 44th in the world based on
tonnage. The Corpus Christi Army Depot is the largest industrial employer in
South Texas and is reported to be adding up to 1,000 employees over the near
term; several U.S. Navy installations are also located in the area. Tourism is
also an important component of the economy, with Padre Island National Seashore
and Mustang Island State Park as leading area tourist attractions.

TAX BASE GAIN ANTICIPATED IN FISCAL 2013
The tax base is sizeable at nearly $18 billion in market value. Taxpayer
concentration is minimal at 5.5% for fiscal 2012. Tax base gains have
historically been solid, averaging about 8.5% annually from fiscal years
2006-2010. TAV declined a modest 4% in fiscal 2011, but returned with a modest
1.5% gain in fiscal 2012, attributable in large part to additional
commercial/retail development. Preliminary information from the Appraisal
District reflect TAV growth of approximately 5% in fiscal 2013, although city
officials conservatively budgeted a more modest 2.5% gain. Given the reported
level of economic activity in the area, Fitch considers this projection
reasonable.

STANDARD LEGAL PROVISIONS
Legal provisions for the series 2012 Seawall project bonds differ slightly from
those of the two outstanding series in that a springing debt service reserve
fund (DSRF) will be established rather than a required reserve fund (the DSRF
for the outstanding series 2001 Seawall project bonds was funded with an Ambac
surety). Pledged revenues for each fiscal year must fall below 1.35x average
annual debt service (AADS) for two consecutive years before a DSRF is required
(unless the ratio falls below 1x at which time the reserve requirement will
began the next fiscal year).

Otherwise, the two indentures for the outstanding arena project and baseball
stadium share similar legal requirements, including a standard debt service
reserve fund and an additional bonds test of 1.25x maximum annual debt service,
although no additional leveraging is anticipated for any of the taxes. All three
indentures allow the use of sales tax revenues for related construction projects
not financed with bond proceeds. In addition, the flow of funds for the baseball
stadium sales tax bonds provides for the use of up to $500,000 annually for
affordable housing purposes but only after payment of debt service and
construction fund requirements have been met.

STABLE FINANCIAL PROFILE PROJECTED
Management projects break-even results or a modest surplus at the close of
fiscal 2012 year-end, assisted by solid sales tax revenue performance that
allowed for some increased spending during the year. By fiscal 2012 year-end,
reserve levels are projected to remain comparable to those in fiscal 2011 that
equaled a $28.4 million unrestricted general fund balance or about 14% of
spending. For fiscal 2013, proposed general fund spending of approximately
$205.2 million reflects a 4.5% year-over-year increase.

Balanced operations are supported by projected revenue growth in property and
sales taxes that is targeted largely for salary increases and totals nearly $3
million with an additional $1 million expected to be added to reserves. A total
of $31.1 million is anticipated to be maintained in general fund reserves per
the city's multi-year forecast given the expectation of balanced operations
through fiscal 2015.

MODERATELY HIGH OVERALL DEBT
Overall debt levels are moderately high at 5% of market value and $2,900 on a
per capita basis, primarily due to debt of the large number of school districts
and the local community college. Payout is above average with 60% principal
retired in 10 years. City officials are considering approaching voters this
November for additional GO authorization in the amount of $45 million-$55
million to fund future capital projects.

In addition to the sources of information identified in Fitch's report
'Tax-Supported Rating Criteria', this action was additionally informed by
information from Creditscope, Case-Shiller, LoanPerformance, Inc, and IHS Global
Insight.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.The ratings above
were solicited by, or on behalf of, the issuer, and therefore, Fitch has been
compensated for the provision of the ratings.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
--'Tax-Supported Rating Criteria' (Aug. 15, 2011);
--'U.S. Local Government Tax-Supported Rating Criteria' (Aug. 15, 2011).

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
Tax-Supported Rating Criteria
U.S. Local Government Tax-Supported Rating Criteria