New York Downgraded as Moody’s Warns Long Return to Normal
- City and state ratings were cut one notch to Aa2 from Aa1
- Downgrade impacts $38.7 billion of NYC general obligation debt
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New York City and state both had their credit ratings lowered Thursday by Moody’s Investors Service, which said the impact from the coronavirus on the most populous U.S. city -- the core of the state’s economic engine -- is among the most severe in the nation.
In a pair of downgrades announced within an hour of each other Thursday, Moody’s dropped both the city and state by one notch to Aa2, the third-highest investment grade rating, and warned of a long return to normal as the region tries to rebound from the pandemic. It’s the first time Moody’s has lowered the ratings on either in about three decades and comes as New York reported the most coronavirus cases since May.