One of Wall Street's premiere bond rating agencies has upgraded Buffalo's bond rating to A1.
City Comptroller Mark Schroeder says Moody's decision follows a complimentary report it wrote about Buffalo's diversifying economy and a meeting he and top financial officials in the Brown Administration and City School District had with the "big three" bond ratings agencies in New York City a month ago.
Schroeder told WBFO News he thinks the upgrade reflects Moody's view that Buffalo is finally ready to "move forward."
"They seem to understand what's happening here in Buffalo. In February, they published a report titled 'Buffalo's Economy Continues to Diversify.' That is outstanding," Schroeder said.
Moody's A1 bond rating for Buffalo is the highest in the city's history. Buffalo has had an A2 rating for the last two years.
Schroeder says the Moody’s rating report explains that the “upgrade to A1 reflects significant improvement of the city’s financial operations and liquidity,” and that the city “demonstrated conservative fiscal management and policies.”
The comptroller says the city's expanding medical sector has caught the attention of investors. He says high-paid jobs in the health sciences industry have been a driving factor in growing the tax base.
The city also maintains high ratings from Fitch and Standard and Poor's at A+ and A, respectively.
Mayor Brown said the upgraded credit rating by Moody’s, one of the big three national credit rating agencies, represents great news for city taxpayers. Mayor Brown issued the following statement today:
“This is great news for city taxpayers,” said Mayor Byron W. Brown. “It’s the latest sign of progress in rebuilding Buffalo’s economy, and reflects the city’s credit worthiness, strong financial position, and ability to repay debt that has a direct savings to taxpayers.”