Fitch Rates Rhode Island's $57.2MM Water Pollution Control SRF ' ...

CHICAGO -- Fitch assigns an 'AAA' rating to the Rhode Island Clean Water Finance Agency's (the agency) $57.2 million water pollution control revolving fund revenue bonds, series 2006 A (pooled loan issue). The bonds are expected to price on Dec. 4 via a syndicate led by UBS Investment Bank. Bond proceeds will be loaned to 9 borrowers for certain water pollution abatement projects through the clean water state revolving fund (CWSRF). In addition, Fitch affirms the 'AAA' rating on the agency's $366.6 million outstanding senior bonds, on parity with the new issue. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The 'AAA' rating reflects the program's highly rated clean water loan pool and strong default tolerance due to substantial reserves. CWSRF capitalization grants are typically deposited into a reserve fund, which is available to cure loan defaults from the statewide pool of municipal borrowers.

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