22 November 2007

N E W S R E L E A S E

Council delighted as AAA credit rating is confirmed

New Plymouth District Council is delighted to receive today’s re-confirmation of its AAA credit rating from international rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S+P).

Mayor Peter Tennent says: “Triple-A is as good as it gets and for S+P to rate us so highly for the fourth successive year is simply fantastic news.

“It represents continuing vindication of our non-political and business-focused approach to finance and investments.”

NPDC is the only council in New Zealand to be rated AAA – the highest rating possible for any organisation.

“A triple-A rating is harder for a council to get in New Zealand in comparison to councils in some other countries,” says Chief Executive Rodger Kerr-Newell.

“Overseas governments can act as a financial back-stop for any of their councils that get in trouble, but that isn’t the case in New Zealand where councils have to stand on their own two feet.

“So S+P’s rating indicates just how robust NPDC’s approach is to finance and investment.”

A copy of S+P’s news release, in which it notes the council’s ‘strong balance sheet and high liquidity’, as well as its research update follow below.

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