Connecticut sold $214.2 million in bonds to refund previously issued securities.
The bonds mature between 2025 and 2034, yielding between 2.83% and 2.93%. They pay interest at 5%. The securities received a rating of AA- from Fitch Ratings, AA+ from Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Aa3 from Moody’s Investors Service, and AA- from S&P Global Ratings.
The rating reflects Connecticut’s “superior gap-closing capacity, as well as its wealthy and diverse, yet slow-growing, economic profile,” Fitch analysts wrote.
Connecticut is in good financial shape, analysts say. The state’s per capita income was the second-highest in the United States in 2022, and its counties are relatively equal in wealth, according to the official statement accompanying the sale of the bonds.
But its population is growing slower than nearby states’ and the national average. Connecticut saw 0.1% population growth between 2014 and 2023, according to the bond documents. Vermont, the New England state with the next-lowest growth, saw its population increase by 2.1% during the same period.
Connecticut will use the issuance proceeds to refund bonds that it sold in 2014.
The bonds are general obligations of the state, backed by its full faith and credit.
Wells Fargo Bank, NA, served as underwriter on the issuance, purchasing the bonds for $238 million. The price reflected a premium of around $24 million. Acacia Financial Group, Inc acted as municipal advisor.