PubFinCriteria_2006_part1_final1.qxp

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
■Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
guaranteed transit bonds.
(2) Federal Housing Administration debentures.
(3*) Certain obligations of government-spon-
sored agencies that are not backed by the full faith
and credit of the United States. As Standard &
Poor’s does not explicitly rate all these obligations,
they must be limited to instruments that have a pre-
determined fixed dollar amount of principal due at
maturity that cannot vary. If it is rated, the obliga-
tion should not have an ‘r’ suffix attached to its rat-
ing. For non-defeasance investments, interest may
either be fixed or variable. If the investments may
be liquidated prior to their maturity, or are being
relied on to meet a certain yield, additional restric-
tions are necessary. Interest should be tied to a sin-
gle interest rate index plus a single fixed spread (if
any) and move proportionately with that index.
These investments are limited to:
■Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (FHLMC)
debt obligations;
■Farm Credit System (formerly Federal Land
Banks, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, and
Banks for Cooperatives) consolidated system-
wide bonds and notes;
■Federal Home Loan Banks (FHL Banks) consoli-
dated debt obligations;
■Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA)
debt obligations;
■Student Loan Marketing Association (SLMA)
debt obligations;
■Financing Corp. (FICO) debt obligations; and
■Resolution Funding Corp. (REFCORP)
debt obligations.
(4) Certain federal funds, unsecured certificates
of deposit, time deposits, banker’s acceptances, and
repurchase agreements having maturities of not
more than 365 days, of any bank, the short-term
debt obligations of which are rated ‘A-1+’ by
Standard & Poor’s. In addition, the instrument
should not have an ‘r’ suffix attached to its rating
and its terms should have a predetermined fixed
dollar amount of principal due at maturity that
cannot vary or change. Interest may either be fixed
or variable. If the investments may be liquidated
prior to their maturity or are being relied on to
meet a certain yield, additional restrictions are nec-
essary. Interest should be tied to a single interest
rate index plus a single fixed spread (if any) and
should move proportionately with that index.
(5) Certain deposits that are fully insured by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). The
deposit’s repayment terms have a predetermined fixed
dollar amount of principal due at maturity that can-
not vary or change. If rated, the deposit should not
have an ‘r’ suffix attached to its rating. Interest may

either be fixed or variable. If the investments may be
liquidated prior to their maturity or are being relied
on to meet a certain yield, additional restrictions are
necessary. Interest should be tied to a single interest
rate index plus a single fixed spread (if any) and
should move proportionately with that index.
(6) Certain debt obligations maturing in 365 days
or less that are rated ‘AA-’ or higher by Standard &
Poor’s. The debt should not have an ‘r’ suffix
attached to its rating and by its terms have a prede-
termined fixed dollar amount of principal due at
maturity that cannot vary or change. Interest can be
either fixed or variable. If the investments may be
liquidated prior to their maturity or are being relied
on to meet a certain yield, additional restrictions
are necessary. Interest should be tied to a single
interest rate index plus a single fixed spread (if any)
and should move proportionately with that index.
(7) Certain commercial paper rated ‘A-1+’ by
Standard & Poor’s and maturing in 365 days or
less. The commercial paper should not have an ‘r’
suffix attached to its rating and by its terms have
a predetermined fixed dollar amount of principal
due at maturity that cannot vary or change.
Interest may either be fixed or variable. If the
investments may be liquidated prior to their matu-
rity or are being relied on to meet a certain yield,
additional restrictions are necessary. Interest
should be tied to a single interest rate index plus a
single fixed spread (if any) and should move pro-
portionately with that index.
(8) Investments in certain short-term debt of
issuers rated ‘A-1’ by Standard & Poor’s may be
permitted with certain restrictions. The total
amount of debt from ‘A-1’ issuers must be limit-
ed to the investment of monthly principal and
interest payments (assuming fully amortizing col-
lateral). The total amount of ‘A-1’ investments
should not represent more than 20% of the rated
issue’s outstanding principal amount and each
investment should not mature beyond 30 days.
Investments in ‘A-1’ rated securities are not eligi-
ble for reserve accounts, cash collateral accounts,
or other forms of credit enhancement in ‘AAA’
rated issues. In addition, none of the investments
may have an ‘r’ suffix attached to its rating. The
terms of the debt should have a predetermined
fixed dollar amount of principal due at maturity
that cannot vary. Interest may either be fixed or
variable. If the investments may be liquidated
prior to their maturity or are being relied on to
meet a certain yield, additional restrictions are
necessary. Interest should be tied to a single
interest rate index plus a single fixed spread (if
any) and should move proportionately with that
index. Short-term debt includes commercial
paper, federal funds, repurchase agreements,

Cross Sector Criteria

52 Standard & Poor’s Public Finance Criteria 2007

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