New York Public Library Gets Rating Upgrade as Gifts Flow In

  • With $1.5 billion of net assets, it has less need to borrow
  • Moody’s boosts rating on $185 million of library’s bonds
An overall view inside the Rose Main Reading Room at the New York Public Library in New York City, U.S.Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images North America
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The New York Public Library’s bonds were upgraded, thanks in part to its friends in high places.

Moody’s Investors Service raised its rating on $185 million of taxable debt one notch to Aa3, its fourth-highest investment grade. The company cited steady philanthropic support that left it with $1.5 billion of net assets by the end of June, reducing its need to sell more debt to finance projects and allowing it to use its endowment to support operations.