In reaffirming the Commonwealth’s Triple-A general obligation bond rating in September and October, the nation’s three top bond rating agencies—Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s, and Fitch issued comments lauding Virginia’s fiscal management approach:
From Moody’s—“The rating reflects Virginia’s long history of proactive and conservative fiscal practices, an economy that has slowed significantly but still fares better than the nation, the significant fiscal challenges the commonwealth continues to face amid weakened revenues, and a strongly-managed debt structure. … Although hard hit first by the housing downturn and then the broader economic decline, the fundamentals of Virginia’s economy remain sound and its recovery will be above-average compared to other states.”
From Standard & Poor’s:—“The rating reflects our view of the commonwealth’s: Strong and broad-based economy that in the past decade has grown at a faster pace than the national average; Good financial position with sufficient reserves; Long history of proactive and conservative financial management; and Manageable debt burden. The commonwealth’s strong financial management focus is evident in its early and active response to a softening of revenues to alleviate a projected $5.6 billion budget deficit for the remainder of the fiscal 2008-2010 biennium.”
From Fitch:—“The commonwealth’s ‘AAA’ rating reflects its substantial economic resources, conservative approach to financial operations, which include periodic revenue forecast updates, and careful attention to the level of its debt obligations.”