Hawaii Bonds (Hawaii Municipal Bonds)
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The state of Hawaii has the distinction of offering bonds that are highly secure from the point of view of investment. This is reflected in the high credit rating assigned to the state by a range of rating agencies, such as Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.[br]
Hawaii bonds are issued to seek funds to upgrade public facilities and buildings, such as:
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Elementary and secondary schools
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Community college and universities
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Public libraries
Popular Hawaii Bonds
Some of the popular Hawaii bonds are:
University of Hawaii (UH) university revenue bonds: These bonds, worth approximately $100 million, were issued to fund capital projects at UH campuses. These bonds were assigned an ‘AA-‘ rating by Fitch Ratings in March 2009. At the same, the following outstanding bonds of the UH were also upgraded by Fitch from ‘A+’ to ‘AA-‘:
- Roughly $112.5 million in outstanding university revenue bonds
- About $146.2 million in outstanding university bonds
This upgrade will enable the UH to raise funds for critical projects at a lower cost. The upgrade in rating was based on several accomplishments of the university, such as its role in the achievement of economic, education, research and workforce development goals of the state. This has led to fairly consistent levels of operating and capital support during times of financial weakness and healthy enrollment trends.[br]
Hawaii‘s Series DQ and DR General Obligation (GO) bonds: These $400 million series 2009 DQ and $220 million series 2009 DR General Obligation (GO) bonds were assigned an ‘AA’ long-term rating by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services in June 2009. The ratings agency also affirmed its ‘AA’ rating on the state’s outstanding GO bonds. The rating to both the bonds reflected Hawaii’s proactive budget monitoring practices, which included numerous updates to the revenue forecast.
Hawaii Highway Revenue Bonds: These 2008 series bonds were offered in December 2008 through negotiation, with the aim of financing statewide highway capital improvement projects. These bonds were assigned an ‘AA-‘ rating by Fitch Ratings in November 2008. The ratings agency had also affirmed the ‘AA-‘ rating on outstanding parity highway revenue bonds worth $241.2 million.
