NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings assigns a rating of 'F1' to the $110,000,000 San Diego County Water Authority (the authority) commercial paper (CP) notes, Series 8 (the notes).
KEY RATING DRIVERS:
The rating is based on the support provided by a liquidity facility issued in the form of a revolving credit and term loan agreement (RCTLA) issued by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., acting through its New York Branch (Bank of Tokyo, rated 'A/F1', Stable Outlook). The notes will be issued on parity with the authority's water subordinate lien revenue refunding bonds, series 2011S-1, which are currently rated 'AA', Stable Outlook by Fitch. The RCTLA provides full and sufficient coverage of the $110,000,000 authorized principal amount of notes issued under series 8. The authority is obligated to pay interest due on maturity dates of the notes. (For more information on the credit of the authority, see Fitch's New Issue Report, dated Feb. 8, 2013, available at www.fitchratings.com.)
The rating on the notes will expire on the earlier of June 27, 2017, the expiration date of the RCTLA, unless such date is extended, or upon any prior termination of the RCTLA.
U.S Bank National Association, as the Issuing and Paying Agent (IPA) for the notes is directed to request an advance under the RCTLA whenever authority revenues and proceeds of the sale of rollover notes are insufficient to pay maturing notes.
The notes will be issued at par, with interest due at maturity. Following the occurrence of an event of default under the RCTLA, Bank of Tokyo may direct the IPA to immediately stop the issuance of any additional notes. In addition, the RCTLA may be terminated at Bank of Tokyo's option upon the occurrence of specified immediate termination events. The dealers for the notes are Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC.
RATING SENSITIVITIES:
The rating reflects the short-term rating that Fitch maintains on the bank providing liquidity support and will be adjusted upward or downward in conjunction with changes to the short-term rating of the bank and in some cases, the long-term rating of the obligor issuing the CP notes.
Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
--'U.S. Municipal Structured Finance Criteria', Feb. 24, 2014;
--'Rating Guidelines for Variable-Rate Demand Obligations and Commercial Paper Issued with External Liquidity Support', Jan. 27, 2014.
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
U.S. Municipal Structured Finance Criteria
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=736618
Rating Guidelines for Variable-Rate Demand Obligations and Commercial Paper Issued with External Liquidity Support
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=730736
Additional Disclosure
Solicitation Status
http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=824669
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