Second Wall Street ratings agency upgrades Nassau credit

                                                                                



Moody's Investor Services last month raised Nassau's credit rating to A1 from A2, giving the county a positive outlook for the future.

This is the second upgrade that Nassau has received from a large Wall Street rating agency.

Last month Standard and Poor's upgraded Nassau's credit to AA- from A+, with a stable outlook.

Wall Street firms have different ranking systems, but essentially, Nassau's ratings from both companies are at the same level.

Moody's wrote that its upgrade for Nassau "reflects a significantly improved financial position that is likely to continue through 2022 given conservative budget management. The county was also able to eliminate or reduce a number of liabilities, significantly reducing recurring expenses.

"Given the substantial improvements in budget management over the past three years, governance is a driver of the rating action."

Hmm. That last sentence means whoever was in charge of the county did a good job.

Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman was happy to note the upgrade on his Facebook page.

A Blakeman spokeman told the Bond Buyer that the credit upgrades were the first in a decade for Nassau, which always seems to be on the edge of financial disaster. "This county has turned the page financially – from being pretty much broke to being financially sound and on solid footing," he said.

The county's financial control board did not take credit for the upgrade, like it did when Standard and Poor's raised Nassau's rating. Moody's did not cite the Nassau Interim Finance Authority's oversight of county's finances, which rating agencies usually have mentioned since the state board was created in 2000.

And nobody this time has credited former Democratic County Laura Curran, who certainly was the county executive for most of the "past three years" mentioned by Moody's. 

Other than the bond buyer, Nassau's upgrades have made very little news...though its downgrades always made headlines in the past.

 


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