Governor Brian P. Kemp announced that Georgia’s AAA bond rating has been reaffirmed with a stable outlook by Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service, and S&P Global Ratings. This comes after Moody’s reaffirmed this high level of financial trustworthiness last week.
“I am proud to report that thanks to our state’s resilient economy and commitment to conservative budgeting, Georgia has once again secured the highest bond rating possible from all three main credit rating agencies,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “Georgia continues to be a safe and stable bet for job creators. That’s why we continue to see record investment and economic development, and it’s one of the many reasons we are well-positioned to save Georgia taxpayers tens of millions of dollars with low interest borrowing rates in the years to come.”
For two consecutive years, Georgia has not issued general obligation bonds but funded capital projects with cash, resulting in an estimated savings of about $2.81 billion over 20 years.
Fitch Ratings stated: “Georgia’s affirmed ‘AAA’ IDR, GO and guaranteed revenue bond ratings reflect the state’s proven willingness and ability to maintain fiscal balance and a broad-based, growth-oriented economy that supports solid revenue gains over time.”
Moody’s Investors Service noted: “Georgia’s Aaa issuer rating reflects the state’s large and diverse economy, strong population and employment growth, robust reserves and liquidity, strong fiscal governance and flexibility and low direct leverage from debt, pension and OPEB liabilities.”
S&P Global Ratings commented: “The ‘AAA’ long-term rating reflects our view of Georgia’s demonstrated resilient budgetary performance across credit cycles, coupled with responsive financial management that has enabled the state to make timely adjustments to general fund expenditures.”
They added that their view includes “the state’s favorable population growth trends, ability to attract diversified business developments within Georgia’s already large economic base,” along with expectations for annual growth rates matching or slightly exceeding national averages.
