Fitch Confirms Lakeland Hospitals (Michigan) $123.65MM VRDBs 2002, 2003, & 2006 at 'AAA/F1+'.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Effective June 12, 2008, Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. will confirm the 'AAA' long-term ratings and assign 'F1+' short-term ratings to $123,650,000 Hospital Finance Authority of the City of St. Joseph (Michigan), variable rate demand revenue bonds, (Lakeland Hospitals at Niles and St. Joseph Obligated ob·li·gate tr.v. ob·li·gat·ed, ob·li·gat·ing, ob·li·gates 1. To bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms at force. 2. To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige. Group), series 2002 ($37,100,000), series 2003 ($38,100,000), and series 2006 ($48,450,000). The rating actions are being taken in connection with the conversion of the interest rate on the bonds from an auction rate to a weekly rate, the provision of a standby bond purchase agreement (SBPA SBPA Simple Branch Prediction Analysis SBPA Scottish Beer and Pub Association (UK) SBPA School of Business and Public Administration SBPA School-Based Performance Award SBPA School-Based Performance Awards ) to provide liquidity support for the bonds while in the weekly rate mode, and the reoffering of the bonds. The long-term 'AAA'; ratings assigned to the bonds will continue to be based on the support of three series specific municipal bond insurance Municipal bond insurance An insurance policy which guarantees payment on municipal bonds in the event of default . municipal bond insurance A guarantee from a third party that principal and interest will be paid to a bondholder. policies provided by Financial Security Assurance Inc., which insure scheduled payments of principal and interest. Each policy extends to the maturity date of the respective series of bonds. The series 2002 and 2003 bonds will mature on Jan. 1, 2032 and the series 2006 bonds will mature on Jan. 1, 2035. The short-term 'F1+' ratings will be based on the liquidity support of three series specific SBPAs provided by JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM TYO: 8634 ) is one of the oldest financial services firms in the world. The company, headquartered in New York City, is one of the leaders in investment banking, financial services, asset and wealth management and private equity. With assets of $1. Bank, N.A. Each SBPA provides for the payment of the purchase price of tendered bonds during the weekly mode, and is sized to cover the principal portion of the purchase price and 36 days of interest at the maximum interest rate of 10%, based upon a year of 365 days. The SBPAs expire on June 11, 2011, the stated expiration dates of the SBPAs, unless such dates are extended; or upon the occurrence of certain event of termination as specified in the SBPAs. The short-term ratings will expire upon any expiration or termination of the SBPAs. The remarketing agent for the bonds is Morgan Stanley  To comply with Wikipedia's , the introduction of this article needs a complete rewrite. .
The bonds will be reoffered at a weekly interest rated on their conversion date, June 12, 2008. After the conversion and reoffering, the bonds may be converted to an auction or fixed rate mode. While the bonds bear interest in the weekly rate mode, holders have the option to tender their bonds on any business day, following the required prior notice to the trustee. The bonds are subject to mandatory tender: (1) on the date of conversion of the interest rate mode applicable to the bonds; (2) on the interest payment date immediately preceding the scheduled expiration date of the SBPA, unless the SBPA has been extended effective on or before such interest payment date; (3) the effective date of a substitute SBPA; (4) the interest payment date which is not more than 35 days following the trustee's receipt of a notice of termination from the SBPA provider; and (5) the fifth business day preceding the substitution of the municipal bond insurance policy. Optional and mandatory redemption provisions also apply to the bonds pursuant to the terms of the authorizing documents. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. 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 Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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