Fitch Rates Ohio DOT SIB Bond Fund Revs 'AA-'.CHICAGO -- 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. assigns an 'AA-' rating to $5,250,000 State of Ohio taxable transportation project revenue bonds, state transportation infrastructure bond fund, series 2006-1. Proceeds of this issue will be used to fund program reserves for the Ohio Department of Transportation's newly created state infrastructure bank (SIB sib: see clan. ) bond fund program. The bonds will be privately placed by NatCity Investments, Inc. 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. is the financial advisor for the SIB bond fund program. Future bond issues will fund loans to political subdivisions throughout the state for highway, rail, transit, air and intermodal transportation projects. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The 'AA-' rating reflects the strong program structure, which provides multiple layers of security and the program's underwriting guidelines. The rating also considers a moderate degree of borrower concentration that is expected to lessen as the bond fund grows. All bonds issued under the master trust indenture will be secured on a parity basis by loan repayments and program equity and reserves. There are currently 16 loans to 13 borrowers with outstanding principal totaling $22.4 million. As of Aug. 30, 2006, program equity was $14.4 million. Additionally, program reserves will be funded at the greater of $5 million or 10% of bonds outstanding; the state provides a moral obligation to replenish the reserve if it falls below its required level. The master indenture requires a cash flow coverage ratio Cash flow coverage ratio The number of times that financial obligations (for interest, principal payments, preferred stock dividends, and rental payments) are covered by earnings before interest, taxes, rental payments, and depreciation. of at least 1.2 times (x) debt service. The pool's largest obligor The individual who owes another person a certain debt or duty. The term obligor is often used interchangeably with debtor. obligor (ah-bluh-gore) n. is currently Akron-Canton Airport, which comprises approximately 26% of the loan portfolio. The City of Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 25,586 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muskingum CountyGR6. and the Dayton-Montgomery Port Authority are the second and third largest borrowers, accounting for 22% and 20% of the portfolio, respectively. Future bond issues will finance additional loans to new borrowers, which will allow the pool to achieve greater diversity. Loans are secured by a variety of sources including passenger facility charges and general airport revenues, incremental taxes, maintenance and user fees, non-tax revenues, capital improvement project funds, and local appropriations. Fitch estimates that approximately 50% of the existing loan portfolio is of investment-grade quality. 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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