Legal And Structural Considerations
The joint-support criteria are only applicable when
the obligation is legal, valid, and enforceable
against both (or all three) obligors. Any preference
payment or clawback risk must be addressed in the
structure of the transaction.
Analysts will exercise judgment to determine
whether the joint-support criteria should be
applied if the obligation is unusual or unpre-
dictable. Note the eligibility of investment agree-
ments to be jointly supported by more than one
provider (see “Public Finance Criteria: Joint
Support To Investment Agreements”).Implementation
To ensure transparency of Standard & Poor’s public
ratings, the joint-support approach will only be
applied when both obligors have a public long-term
and, if relevant, short-term rating unless the joint-
support criteria affect only one element of a com-
plex transaction. In addition, where one of the
supporters is a U.S. public finance obligor, the bond
issue will also receive a Standard & Poor’s
Underlying Rating (SPUR) reflecting the unen-
hanced long-term rating of the issue.
If the rating on a supporting obligor is placed on
CreditWatch, Standard & Poor’s will either place
the rating on the jointly supported issue on
CreditWatch or state publicly that the latter rating
will be unaffected by the obligor’s rating review.■Municipal Structured Finance222 Standard & Poor’s Public Finance Criteria 2007
BB+ BB BB- B+ B B- CCC+ CCC CCC- D
AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA
AA+ AAA AA+ AA+ AA+ AA+ AA+ AA+ AA+ AA+ AA+
AA AAA AA+ AA AA AA AA AA AA AA AA
AA- AAA AA AA AA- AA- AA- AA- AA- AA- AA-
A+ AAA AA AA- AA- A+ A+ A+ A+ A+ A+
A AAAAA-AA-A+AAAAAA
A- AAA A+ A+ A A A- A- A- A- A-
BBB+ AAA A A- A- A- BBB+ BBB+ BBB+ BBB+ BBB+
BBB AAA A- A- BBB+ BBB+ BBB+ BBB BBB BBB BBB
BBB- AAA BBB+ BBB+ BBB BBB BBB BBB- BBB- BBB- BBB-
BB+ AAA BBB+ BBB BBB BBB BBB- BBB- BB+ BB+ BB+
BB AAA BBB BBB BBB BBB- BBB- BB+ BB BB BB
BB- AAA BBB BBB- BBB- BB+ BB+ BB BB BB- BB-
B+ AAA BBB BBB- BB+ BB+ BB BB- BB- B+ B+
B AAA BBB- BB+ BB+ BB BB- B+ B+ B B
B- AAA BBB- BB+ BB BB- BB- B B B- B-
CCC+ AAA BB+ BB BB- B+ B B- B- CCC+ CCC+
CCC AAA BB BB BB- B+ B B- CCC+ CCC+ CCC
CCC- AAA BB BB- B+ B B- CCC+ CCC+ CCC CCC-
D AAA BB BB- B+ B B- CCC+ CCC CCC- DTable 5 Low Correlation Reference Table(continued)