(The Center Square) – Tax-exempt and general obligation bonds will soon be sold in Maryland, Treasurer Dereck E. Davis said.
The state is planning to sell $1.05 billion general obligation bonds, Davis announced Wednesday afternoon, as Maryland has retained its AAA bond rating. The bonds will be sold on June 8.
“Today is a proud day for Maryland,” Davis said in the release. “Our economy and our citizens continue to demonstrate resilience despite many challenges to our collective way of life. Through the pandemic, global unrest, and record inflation, we have managed to maintain the rating agencies’ confidence in our fiscal management.
“The AAA ratings ensure that the interest rates on the state’s bonds remain low, saving Maryland residents millions of dollars. We can then invest those savings into schools, roads, health-care facilities, and other community needs.”
At the sale, according to the release, the state is anticipating selling off $900 million worth of tax-exempt bonds through three bidding groups, and another $150 million in taxable bonds.
The sale will take place in the Assembly Room at the Goldstein Treasury Building in Annapolis, and will be conducted by Gov. Larry Hogan, Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot, who are representing the Board of Public Works, and Davis.
According to the release, the state received the highest rating from the three major bond rating agencies and also received a “stable outlook.” Maryland is joined by Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia in achieving the AAA ratings.
S&P Global Ratings said in the report, according to the release, that Maryland has a “stable outlook” that “reflects our opinion of the state’s ability” to manage economic and budgetary risks “that arise in a structurally balanced manner to alleviate fiscal pressures.”
“The state has a long history of proactive budget management to maintain adequate reserves levels and enact expenditure reductions when needed, which we expect will continue,” S&P said in the report.
According to the release, Moody’s Investors Service said Maryland earned the highest rating due to its “strong financial management policies” in addition to ample liquidity levels, a stable economy, and “high personal income levels.”
The organization said those attributes curb the state’s economic exposure “to potential constrained federal spending” in the coming years.
Fitch Ratings said it gave Maryland it’s highest rating, which “reflects the state’s broad, diverse, and wealthy economy” that is combined with “strong and forward-looking fiscal management.” The organization also cited the state’s broad budgetary flexibility as a reason for the rating.