Fitch Rates Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Auth, Ohio Bond Fund Development Revs 'BBB+'.CHICAGO -- Fitch assigns a 'BBB+' rating to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, Ohio (the authority) $7,000,000 development revenue bonds, series 2006A (City of Brooklyn Project). The series 2006A bonds will be offered by Robert W. Baird Robert Wilson Baird (born April 1, 1883) helped found the financial services firm that bears his name and led it for more than 40 years. Baird’s father was a professor of Greek literature at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where Baird grew up. & Co. Inc. during the week of July 10. Fitch also affirms the 'BBB+' rating on the authority's $74.9 million outstanding bond fund development revenue bonds. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The 'BBB+' rating reflects the bond fund's sizable reserves and satisfactory underwriting Underwriting 1. The process by which investment bankers raise investment capital from investors on behalf of corporations and governments that are issuing securities (both equity and debt). 2. The process of issuing insurance policies. standards. While many of the fund's loans are to speculative grade borrowers, the program's reserve requirements Reserve Requirements Requirements regarding the amount of funds that banks must hold in reserve against deposits made by their customers. This money must be in the bank's vaults or at the closest Federal Reserve Bank. provide liquidity and first-loss protection to meet bond payments in the event a portion of the program's borrowers default on their loan repayments. The bond fund promotes economic development by loaning revenue bond proceeds to small- and medium-sized industrial, commercial, and nonprofit enterprises primarily in Cuyahoga County. By entering into cooperative agreements with governmental entities, the authority can also make loans for the bond fund in various counties throughout the state. All participants must meet the underwriting criteria of the authority and establish a reserve equal to at least 10% of the original par amount of the loan. The City of Brooklyn, Ohio Brooklyn is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,586 at the 2000 census. Geography Brooklyn is located at (41.435357, -81.744457)GR1. , which is the borrower, will meet this requirement with bond proceeds. In addition to the primary reserves provided by the borrowers totaling $9.2 million, the program maintains reserves totaling $13 million: a $4 million cash reserve established from program funds, and a $9 million irrevocable LOC LOC - lines of code from Fifth Third Bank. The LOC, which expires March 1, 2014 is subject to possible two-year extensions and provides the bond fund with a revolving line of credit Revolving line of credit A bank line of credit on which the customer pays a commitment fee and can take and repay funds at will. Normally a revolving LOC involves a firm commitment from the bank for a period of several years. that supplements the primary and other program reserves. The bank's lien on bond fund collateral is subordinate to bondholders. After this issue, the bond fund will have 21 loans outstanding totaling $81.9 million. The City of Garfield Heights Garfield Heights, city (1990 pop. 31,739), Cuyahoga co., NE Ohio, a residential and industrial suburb adjacent to Cleveland; founded 1904, inc. 1932. It has oil refineries and a steel industry. represents the program's largest borrower at $8.9 million (or 11% of total outstanding loans). The authority, which Fitch assigns an implied rating of 'BBB', is the program's second-largest borrower at $7.4 million (or 9%). All of the program's bonds are equally and ratably secured by funds held in the common fund, providing resources for debt service payments should a portion of the outstanding loans default. Total primary and program reserves, including the program LOC, equal $22.3 million, or 27% of the principal of all outstanding loans. Bond proceeds will be loaned to Brooklyn, Ohio to finance certain public roadway and parking improvements related to a senior housing facility that will be constructed at the location. Special assessments levied against the senior housing development, equal to the debt service on the bonds, will be the primary security for the bonds. The bonds are also secured by the primary and program reserves mentioned above. 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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