Demonstration in front of Bank of America in downtown Detroit demanding a moratorium on debt service payments by the city government. Detroit taxpayers turn over $597 million annually to the banks. (Photo: Abayomi Azikiwe), a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Fitch downgrades Detroit credit rating as a result of lawsuit challenging consent agreement
Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 4:55
By Jonathan Oosting | joosting@mlive.com MLive.com
DETROIT, MI — Detroit's bond status sunk even lower Tuesday, as Fitch Ratings downgraded the city's credit rating in the face of uncertainty over a pending lawsuit over a recent consent agreement with the state.
Fitch, citing concerns that Detroit will be able to make a $34 million debt payment this week if the state witholds revenue sharing because of the suit, lowered several city bond ratings from B and B- to CC and CCC.
"Fitch believes there are actions available to both the city and the state of Michigan that would insure the payment is made but that the current level of uncertainty so close to a bond repayment date is consistent with a higher probability of default than the prior B-category ratings implied," said a report.
Moody's downgraded Detroit bonds in March, making it even more difficult for the city to borrow money without facilitation from the state.
Chief Operating Officer Chris Brown said that while Detroit is working to restore its financial reputation he was not entirely surprised by today's downgrade.
"Although the administration sought to avoid this, the downgrade is, in part, a consequence of the legal challenge of the (consent agreement) between the city and the state," Brown said in a released statement. "Legal challenges have a negative impact on bond ratings in the credit market overall."
Corporation Counsel Krystal Crittendon, who alleges the state owed Detroit hundreds of millions in promised revenue sharing and unpaid bills, filed a suit last month challenging the legality of the consent agreement.
The state says the suit will jeopardize $80 million in expected revenue sharing payments for the city. Mayor Dave Bing has urged Crittendon to withdraw the suit, warning the city could run out of cash by Friday.
Euro Crisis Deeper With Moody’s Downgrading Spain, Cyprus
By John Detrixhe and Cheyenne Hopkins - Jun 13, 2012
The European debt crisis deepened as the credit ratings of Spain and Cyprus were downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service.
Moody’s yesterday cut Spain’s rating three steps to Baa3 from A3, citing the nation’s increased debt burden, weakening economy and limited access to capital markets. Moody’s also lowered Cyprus’s bond rating to Ba3 from Ba1, attributing the downgrade to the material increase in the likelihood of a Greek exit from the euro area, and the resulting increase in the probable amount of support that the government may have to extend to Cypriot banks.
Moody’s is following the sentiment of financial markets that weren’t calmed by Europe’s 100 billion-euro ($126 billion) weekend bailout of Spanish banks, said Clay Lowery, a vice president at Washington-based Rock Creek Global Advisors LLC and former assistant Treasury secretary for international affairs.
For Moody’s, “it’s not whether you’re going to make money off your investment, it’s what is the creditworthiness of the borrower,” Lowery said. “Spain’s debt load has gotten larger with much more senior debt, so at least the potential for them to default has now gone up.”
Rifts are deepening with Greek elections on June 17 risking the first exit from the single currency as voters buckle under the continent’s most severe austerity program. Spanish bond yields reached a record after the nation’s request for aid for its banks fueled speculation the world’s 12th-biggest economy may need a full rescue.
Key Reason
The key reason for the downgrade “is obviously the need of Spain’s government to ask for external help,” Kathrin Muehlbronner, a London-based senior analyst with the sovereign group at Moody’s, said in a telephone interview. “In our view, that’s not a sign of strength, it’s a sign of weakness.”
Spain is on review for further downgrade as it plans to borrow 100 billion euros from European Union rescue funds to recapitalize its banking system, adding to the government’s debt load, New York-based Moody’s said yesterday in a statement. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy requested the rescue on June 9.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner spoke yesterday as Spain was downgraded. Spain’s bailout “is a good, concrete signal and illustration” of Europe’s commitment to move toward a “broader banking union,” Geithner said. He said a more integrated banking system is “important because of the pressures you’re seeing from Greece and elsewhere.”
Mexico Summit
The Group of 20 nations will meet in Los Cabos, Mexico, June 18-19 to discuss the European debt crisis. A U.S. official said yesterday the leaders probably won’t announce significant progress on Europe’s debt crisis. Geithner will attend along with President Barack Obama.
The summit in Los Cabos will give European leaders a chance to discuss economic concerns with heads of other major economies. European governments are more focused on building a consensus for a summit they are holding later in the month, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
The meeting in Mexico comes after Greece votes on June 17. The Syriza party, led by Alexis Tsipras, has promised to abrogate the terms of the 240 billion-euro ($302 billion) bailout from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, which calls for cuts that risk deepening the country’s worst recession since World War II.
Spain’s Stance
Spanish Deputy Economy Minister Fernando Jimenez Latorre said yesterday that Spain will stick to the tools it has used so far to shore up its banks, rejecting calls from Finland, one of the euro region’s six AAA rated sovereigns, to break up failing lenders.
Yields on Spanish debt due in 10 years climbed to 6.75 percent yesterday, compared with 5.1 percent at the end of last year. The Spanish rate has jumped more than 50 basis points since Spain agreed to the bailout package of as much as 100 billion euros for the nation’s banks on June 9.
“The Spanish government has very limited financial market access,” Moody’s said in the statement, citing the nation’s need for rescue funds and “its growing dependence on its domestic banks as the primary purchasers of its new bond issues, who in turn obtain funding from the” European Central Bank.
To contact the reporter on this story: John Detrixhe in New York at jdetrixhe1@bloomberg.net; Cheyenne Hopkins in Washington at chopkins19@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net
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