Hartford issuer rating gets Moody's lift to investment grade

Connecticut’s capital city has regained another investment grade rating.

Moody’s Investors Service on Friday upgraded Hartford’s issuer rating to Baa3 from Ba2. The outlook was changed to stable from positive at the higher new rating.

The upgrade “reflects city’s continued financial improvement inclusive of cash and reserves that have materially increased over the last five years and are in good position to continue moderate improvement,” according to Moody’s. “The upgrade also recognizes the city’s significantly stronger budget management practices and our expectation that these strategies will remain entrenched in the city and survive changes in administration due, in part, to its ongoing collaboration with the Municipal Accountability Review Board.”

Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Hartford, Connecticut’s issuer rating to Baa3 from Ba2.

Adobe Stock

The MARB is a state entity created to support and, if necessary, step in to provide technical, financial and other assistance to municipalities that are experiencing fiscal distress.

Hartford ran into severe fiscal difficulty in the 2010s, and Connecticut’s state government ultimately stepped in to take responsibility for Hartford’s general obligation debt payments, and arrangement that continues to bolster the city’s credit quality, Moody’s said Friday.

The city has about $540 million of outstanding indebtedness, according to the rating agency.

Moody’s had rated Hartford as low as Caa3 in 2017, saying at the time a default appeared likely. It had maintained a speculative grade rating on the city since October 2016.

“Our team has been extremely disciplined, and we’ve stuck to our long-term fiscal plan,” Mayor Luke Bronin said in a statement.

“We’ve budgeted carefully, we’ve generated surpluses every year, we’ve reduced the property tax rate, and we haven’t taken on a dollar of debt since 2016,” the mayor said.

“This upgrade represents the hard work and efforts of the city to continually push forward in making Hartford fiscally strong and responsible,” city Treasurer Carmen Sierra said in a statement.

S&P Global Ratings lifted its issuer rating of Hartford to investment-grade BBB from speculative grade BB-plus in 2021.