State of Texas Short-Term Notes Reach Highest Ratings Ever

The State of Texas’ short-term notes have reached their highest ratings ever, according to the Texas Comptroller's Office.

Wall Street ratings firms have given their highest ratings to this year’s Texas Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes, or TRANs.

TRANs are annual, one-year notes, which are sold to help fund school payments and manage cash flow between the start of a fiscal year and the arrival of tax revenue later in the year.

Texas’ 2013 TRANs are rated SP-1+ by Standard & Poor’s, F1+ by Fitch Inc. and MIG 1 by Moody’s Investors Service.

This year’s $7.2 billion TRAN sale will take place August 27^th.

Standard & Poor’s weighed in, saying “Texas’ economic performance continues to significantly outpace the nation’s. By almost every significant measure, the Lone Star State’s economy continues to perform better than that of most other large states, and is among the fastest growing economies in the nation overall.”

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs commented, saying “These top ratings reflect the economic strength of Texas as we continue to add jobs and put out the welcome mat for businesses. Texas benefits from a diverse mix of industries and confidence in our state’s economy. Wall Street recognizes the importance of the strong revenue growth and conservative budgeting principles we have in Texas.”

TRANs have been sold since fiscal year 1987. This year’s TRAN sale will take place on Tuesday, August 27^th from 9 to 10 a.m. Central time at www.trantexas.com. The notes will be repaid on August 28^th, 2014.