NMCO - Q3 2019 Credit Commentary
By Patricia Healy, CFA
Municipal Credit, Bond Market Dynamics, Natural Disasters, Green Bonds, State Rating Changes, and an Update on Single Ratings
Municipal bond credit quality remains relatively strong, as indications are still that upgrades are outpacing downgrades. S&P and Moody's have both recently issued comments that corporate credit quality is weakening. Per S&P, credits rated AAA to B- with negative outlooks or CreditWatch-negative assignments have been increasing, indicating a negative bias. Similarly, Moody's estimates that the third-quarter downgrade-per-upgrade ratio for all US high-yield credit rating revisions increased to over 2.25:1 from January to September