State Treasurer Brad Briner announced today S&P Ratings has affirmed North Carolina’s AAA ratings on its outstanding general obligation bonds. This is the second AAA bond rating announced in the past week- with Moody’s assigning the same rating last Wednesday.
There were also high ratings for two upcoming transportation bonds. The Limited Obligation (BuildNC) Bonds with a proposed amount of $300 million have an AA+ rating. The Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle Bonds for $475 million is rated at AA.
In its rating, S&P said, “The outlook also reflects the state's commitment to strong fiscal management of the budget, reserve balances, and debt and retirement liabilities. Furthermore, we anticipate that the underlying strengths and structural features of North Carolina's economy will support growth over the long term.”
North Carolina suffered an estimated $60 billion in damages from Hurricane Helene and has a large need for funding sources from the federal government, as well as resources to complete rebuild efforts from older storms, but the rating said, “Although North Carolina has some exposure to physical risks due to some 300 miles of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, making it susceptible to adverse weather events, we believe it has addressed this risk, including maintaining and replenishing reserves…”
S&P chose to keep the state’s AAA bond rating in part because of the “strong economic growth and demographic trends over the past decade” and because North Carolina “has historically maintained a strong management and policy framework to respond to developing risks.”
As of 2024, only 14 other states have AAA bond ratings from all three bonding agencies.
The N.C. Department of State Treasurer’s State and Local Government Finance Division manages the sale and delivery of most state and local debt and monitors the repayment of state and local government debt. More information can be found at http://www.nctreasurer.com/slg