State Treasurer Says Md. Bonds Face Moody’s Downgrade

As fiscal brinkmanship continues in Congress, state treasurer Nancy Kopp warned a Maryland Senate committee that a federal sequester and the resulting cuts to the state budget could result in a downgrade of Maryland’s triple-A credit rating from Moody’s Analytics, one of America’s three major credit rating agencies.

On Tuesday, Kopp told the Senate Budget and Tax Committee that she recently had discussions with Moody’s representatives. She argued that Maryland’s educated workforce and “conservative budget” make it worthy of the agency’s highest credit rating. But the agency has refused to budge on its position that Maryland’s creditworthiness depends upon the outcome of Washington budget negotiations.

“There is this cloud on the horizon,” Kopp said. “If those ladies and gentleman on Capitol Hill can’t get it together and reach the consensus that Moody’s wants, then they will downgrade the United States, and they might downgrade Maryland, too.”
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