Fitch Rates Veterans' Housing Assistance Program (Texas) Fund II Bank Bonds Series 2006C 'AA+'.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 -- 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. has assigned a long-term underlying rating of 'AA+' to bank bonds corresponding to variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs) issued by the State of Texas (general obligation bonds) Veterans' Housing Assistance Program Fund II refunding bonds refunding bond A bond that is issued for the purpose of retiring an outstanding bond. Issuers refund bond issues to reduce financing costs, eliminate covenants, and alter maturities. See also crossover refunding bonds, prerefunding. (taxable) series 2006C. The 'AA+' rating is based on the general obligation (GO) rating assigned by Fitch to the State of Texas. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The variable rate component of the Texas Veterans loan program represents approximately 14% of net tax supported state debt. Fitch believes that the state's interest rate risk is low given sufficient available reserves to accommodate any increased interest requirements in the near term. There is no term-out risk for these bank bonds. The 'AA+' GO bond rating reflects the state's low debt and conservative financial operations and an economy that has expanded and diversified diversified (di·verˑ·s . Financial pressures arise from the demand that rapid growth places on the state's consumption-based tax system, as well as from property tax relief, transportation needs and other state obligations. Although resolved for the fiscal years (FY) 2008-2009 biennium bi·en·ni·um n. pl. bi·en·ni·ums or bi·en·ni·a A two-year period. [Latin : bi-, two; see bi-1 + annus, year; see at- , the general fund remains sensitive to longer-term funding shortfalls of property tax relief in the form of increased state funding for school finance. State finances are strong, and revenue collections through the first half of the biennium were well ahead of projection. The economic and financial impact of Hurricane Ike, which struck the state earlier in September, remains unknown. Through Sept. 30, 2008, the first month of fiscal 2009, and revenues were $153 million, or 1.4%, above estimate, led by sales and oil and natural gas tax receipts. The economy continues to expand, with employment up 2.3% in August 2008 compared to August 2007. The Stable Rating Outlook reflects the state's strong economic and revenue growth and satisfactory balances. For more information on Texas' general credit please Fitch's research report on the State of Texas, dated Sept. 9, 2008, available on the Fitch Ratings web site at www.fitchratings.com. Fitch issued an exposure draft on July 31, 2008 proposing a recalibration of tax-supported and water/sewer revenue bond ratings which, if adopted, may result in an upward revision of this underlying rating (see Fitch research 'Exposure Draft: Reassessment Reassessment The process of re-determining the value of property or land for tax purposes. Notes: Property is usually reassessed on an annual basis. You may request a "reassessment" if you disagree with your assessment. of the Municipal Ratings Framework'). 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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