The Blog

Governor Chris Gregoire

07/07/08

Although school has been out for a few weeks, the state of Washington just received some outstanding grades. We earned an "AA" rating from Fitch Ratings and an "AA+" rating from Standard & Poors, two international bond rating firms. The rankings are among the highest that the two firms assign bonds.

Fitch’s "AA" bond rating is based on the state’s sound financial and debt policies as well as economic and financial strength.

Standard & Poor’s "AA+" rating reflects Washington’s very strong credit factors across a number of economic and financial measures.

Building a solid economic base for the state is clearly paying off. It’s our job to invest taxpayer money wisely, hold state agencies accountable for results and keep a healthy reserve. This pays off as we enter the marketplace to sell bonds for construction and other capital projects. We earn a good value for the state when our high ratings help us get low interest rates.

While 29 states are now confronting budget deficits, we in Washington are in a better position to ride out this economic storm. It’s not just me pointing this out. The financial community agrees.

The ratings were issued in advance of a sale of general obligation bonds scheduled July 9.