Bond Rating

Sections

Measure description
Why this measure is important
San Francisco General Obligation Bond Rating
How performance is measured
Data
Additional information
City Performance Scorecards

Measure description

The City issues bonds, or debt, in order to fund large capital projects. The purchase of those bonds provides the financing for these capital projects. San Francisco's GO bond rating acts as the City's credit rating. It measures the overall financial stability of the City and indicates how safe of an investment the City's bonds are to potential purchasers.

Why this measure is important

In 2018, Moody's upgraded the City's bond rating from Aa1 to Aaa, the agency's highest quality level, and the City has maintained that prime rating ever since. Having a prime credit rating incentivizes the purchasing of San Francisco bonds, which has historically funded projects in the following service areas: seismic improvements and disaster preparation, medical and mental health service and infrastructure, affordable housing, transportation enhancements, and renewal and repair of parks, recreation and open spaces.

The interactive charts below present the City's current and historical GO bond ratings.

The chart's legend is below:

Y-axis: Bond rating
X-axis: Calendar years

San Francisco General Obligation Bond Rating

How performance is measured

There are three major municipal bond rating agencies: Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch. Each rating agency has a proprietary methodology for assigning ratings to a municipality.

High credit ratings allow the City to issue debt at lower borrowing costs. Moody's “Aaa” classification indicates that the City presents minimal credit risk. Standard & Poor's "AAA" classification is the highest rating in its system.