Press Release|Public Finance
KBRA Assigns AA Rating to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Second Lien Dedicated Revenue Bonds, Series 2025A; Outlook Stable
18 Jun 2025 | New York
KBRA assigns a long-term rating of AA to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Second Lien Dedicated Revenue Bond, Series 2025A. Concurrently, KBRA affirms the AA rating on outstanding parity Second Lien Dedicated Revenue Bonds, and affirms the AA+ rating on outstanding Dedicated Revenue Bonds (Senior Lien). The Outlook is Stable.
Key Credit Considerations
The rating was assigned because of the following key credit considerations:
Credit Positives
- The signatories have an uninterrupted 49-year history of full payment of annual operating and capital funding commitments to WMATA.
- The strong credit characteristics of the signatories and the essentiality of mass transit to the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area support the appropriation funding mechanism.
Credit Challenges
- The signatories may proportionally reduce their dedicated capital funding contribution if another does not pay their obligations in full.
- A portion of Dedicated Capital Funding Revenues are economically sensitive.
- Absent new or increased revenues, limited remaining Dedicated Revenue Bond debt capacity has the potential to delay execution of the Authority’s FY 2026-FY 2031 CIP, which includes essential state of good repair projects.
Rating Sensitivities
For Upgrade
- Improvement in the already strong and stable credit position of one or more of the signatories.
- Substantive near-term progress by the Authority and its jurisdictional partners in the identification of new and/or increased recurring capital funding .
For Downgrade
- Materially weakened credit position of one or more of the signatories.
- Failure of one or more signatories to make its committed operating and capital appropriations in full.
- Absence of near-term progress by the Authority and its jurisdictional partners in the identification of new and/or increased recurring capital funding.
To access ratings and relevant documents, click here.