Bank of America LOC-Backed Municipal Bonds Downgraded (1 of 2) (Business Wire)

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In conjunction with the downgrade of Bank of America N.A.'s long-term senior debt rating to 'AA-' from 'AA', Fitch downgrades the following bonds backed by Bank of America N.A. letters of credit (see list below, which continues in a second release). Most of the downgrades are from 'AA' to 'AA-' reflecting the credit substitution of Bank of America, but certain bonds are downgraded to 'AA+' from 'AAA' or to 'AA' from 'AA+', considering the joint probability of the failure of both a rated municipal obligor and a bank LOC provider. The two-party pay methodology results in a rating that is up to two notches higher than the stronger of the two credits if the following conditions are met: (1) both entities have a rating of 'A' or higher; (2) the transaction is structured such that payments from both the... [read full story]