Mayor Announces Providence's Bond Rating Gets A Bump

PROVIDENCE, RI — The state capital got a boost on Wednesday when Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza announced that Standard and Poor's Corporation has upgraded the city's bond rating to BBB+ from BBB, and assigned a "stable outlook" to the city's rating. The agency said that the upgrade reflects Providence's progress in improving finances, the correction of structural budget imbalances and a trend of three years of balanced operations.

"Standard & Poor's recent bond rating upgrade signals that Providence continues to move forward through our commitment to responsible financial management," Elorza said in a statement. "We are a city on the rise and leading financial institutions have taken notice. While we still have challenges before us, we'll continue to closely monitor our finances and working to keep the momentum going."

The S&P report noted Providence's trend of consecutive operation surpluses, growth in assessed and market values, meaningful private development, relatively low unemployment, the presence of higher education and health care institutions and tax-base growth.