Standard & Poor’s Rating Service has once again affirmed West Virginia Housing Development Fund’s “AAA” issuer credit rating. The “AAA” qualification is Standard & Poor’s highest ranking and the Fund is the only state housing finance agency to receive an “AAA” rating.
“I am so proud of the WVHDF for leading the nation with this rating,” said Gov. Jim Justice, who, in his role as Governor, serves as Chairman of the Fund’s Board of Directors. “The Fund is a shining example of the momentum we have built in West Virginia, and proves once again that West Virginia is the diamond in the rough that everybody missed.”
The rating service lauded the extremely high credit quality of the Fund’s asset base, the Fund’s ability to successfully meet its legislative mandate, the extensive experience of the Fund’s management and its conservative philosophy.
The report said, in part, “we believe WVHDF benefits from a very strong and experienced management team, which continues to succeed in meeting its mission to finance affordable housing for West Virginia residents, as demonstrated by the funding of single-family and multifamily programs from the WVHDF’s general reserves and resolution earnings. The Fund also enjoys a strong, mutually beneficial working relationship with the West Virginia legislature.”
“The ‘AAA’ rating is yet another testament to our staff and the great work they do. We understand our mission and work hard to execute it,” said Erica Boggess, the Fund’s Executive Director. “We remain the only state housing agency in the country to achieve and maintain an ‘AAA’ rating. This rating further helps us do what we do best – help state residents make their dream of homeownership a reality.
“We are fortunate enough to serve a community that understands what it means to own a home,” Boggess continued. “We have faith in this state and its residents, and that faith is reflected in this rating. We are only as good as our clients, but, we’re lucky to have the best clients in the nation.”
The Huffington Post has also named West Virginia the best state for first-time homebuyers because of the Fund’s mortgage programs.
Standard & Poor’s is one of the world’s foremost providers of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data.
The West Virginia Housing Development Fund is a public body corporate and governmental instrumentality of the State of West Virginia, established to increase the supply of residential housing for persons and families of low and moderate income, and to provide construction and permanent mortgage financing to public and private sponsors of such housing. To date, the Housing Development Fund has issued more than $4.6 billion in bonds and has financed more than 126,000 housing[JD3] units since it began operation in 1969. The West Virginia Housing Development Fund is an Equal Housing Opportunity Lender.