Fitch Upgrades Wellspan Health Obligated Group (PA) Revs, Series 2008D to 'AA+/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 -- 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. upgrades the long- and short-term ratings to 'AA+/F1+' from 'AA-/F1' for the currently outstanding $80,935,000 General Authority of Southcentral Pennsylvania revenue bonds, series 2008D (Wellspan Health WellSpan Health is a large integrated health care system located in southcentral Pennsylvania. Headquartered in York, PA, Wellspan Health includes York Hospital, Gettysburg Hospital, the WellSpan Medical Group, VNA Homehealth Care, South Central Preferred, and several other health 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). The upgrade is taken in connection with the mandatory tender and remarketing of the bonds upon substitution of the irrevocable, direct-pay letter of credit (LOC LOC - lines of code ) supporting the bonds which will occur on Nov. 4, 2009. The long-term rating assigned to series 2008D is now based jointly on the underlying rating assigned to those bonds by Fitch (currently rated 'AA-'), and the support provided by the substitute LOC issued by TD Bank, NA in replacement for SunTrust Bank. Fitch rates TD Bank, NA 'AA-/F1+' with a Stable Rating Outlook. (For information about the basis of the long-term component of the rating, see the criteria report entitled 'Dual-Party Pay Criteria for Long-Term Ratings on LOC-Supported U.S. Public Finance Bonds' dated June 11, 2009 at 'www.fitchratings.com'.) The short-term 'F1+' rating is based solely on the LOC. The long-term rating is based on Fitch's dual-party pay criteria which considers the likelihood of the failure of both a rated 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. and a bank LOC provider. The methodology results in a rating that is up to two notches higher than the stronger of the two credits if the following conditions are met: (1) both entities have a rating of 'A' or higher; (2) the transaction is structured such that payments from both the municipal issuer and the bank are in the flow of funds Flow of funds In the context of municipal bonds, refers to the statement displaying the priorities by which municipal revenue will be applied to the debt. In the context of mutual funds, refers to the movement of money into or out of a mutual funds or between or among and both entities would have to fail to perform before the bonds defaulted; and (3) the credit of the bank and the rated obligor have no more than a medium degree of correlation. Fitch has determined a low degree of correlation between TD Bank, NA and the obligor which results in a rating of 'AA+/F1+' for the bonds. If either the underlying bond rating or the bank rating were downgraded to 'A-' or lower, the dual-party pay criteria could no longer be applied, and the long-term rating assigned to the bonds would then be adjusted to the higher of the bank rating and the underlying bond rating. The bank is obligated to make payments of principal of and interest on the bonds upon maturity, acceleration and redemption, as well as purchase price for tendered bonds. The rating will expire upon the earliest of: (a) Nov. 3, 2012, the initial stated expiration date Expiration Date The day on which an options or futures contract is no longer valid and, therefore, ceases to exist. Notes: The expiration date for all listed stock options in the U.S. of the LOC, unless such date is extended; (b) any prior termination of the LOC; (c) defeasance defeasance n. an antiquated word for a document which terminates the effect of an existing writing such as a deed, bond, or contract if some event occurs. DEFEASANCE, contracts, conveyancing. of the bonds. The LOC provides full coverage of principal plus an amount equal to 40 days of interest at a maximum rate of 12% based on a year of 365 days and purchase price for tendered bonds, while in the weekly and daily rate modes. The Remarketing Agent for the series 2008D bonds is Citigroup Global Markets Inc. The bonds bear interest at a weekly rate, but may be converted to a daily, long term, indexed put rate, or bond interest term rate. While bonds bear interest in the weekly rate mode, interest payments are on the first Wednesday of each month. While bonds bear interest in the daily rate mode, interest payments are on the fifth business day of each month. Holders may tender their bonds on any business day, provided the remarketing agent is given at least seven calendar days' prior notice of the purchase in the weekly rate mode, and notice by 9:00 a.m. New York time on the purchase date, in the daily rate mode. The bonds are subject to mandatory tender: (1) upon conversion of the interest rate; (2) upon expiration, substitution or termination of the LOC; and (3) on the fourth business day following receipt of written notice from the bank of an event of default under the Reimbursement Agreement, directing such mandatory tender. Optional and mandatory redemption provisions also apply to the bonds. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP HTTP in full HyperText Transfer Protocol Standard application-level protocol used for exchanging files on the World Wide Web. HTTP runs on top of the TCP/IP protocol. ://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, 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 WEBSITE '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. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion