Moody’s went on to say that U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew has been in contact with Puerto Rico’s governor, urging him to find a solution, noting that federal intervention, “would be unprecedented, and our ratings for U.S. state and local governments do not assume the national government will provide financial support in such situations.”
We continue to monitor developments, both with interest and concern, as the potential impact to the municipal marketplace of a negative outcome would be meaningful.
Gradations of creditworthiness are indicated by rating symbols, with each symbol representing a group in which the credit characteristics are broadly the same. The symbols that are used by Moody’s to designate least credit risk to that denoting greatest credit risk: Aaa, Aa, A, Baa, Ba, B, Caa, Ca, and C. Ratings from Ba to Caa are below investment grade (non-investment grade) or speculative grade.