S&P Global Upgrades BlueHub's Rating To 'A'
New rating reflects "stable outlook" for BlueHub Loan Fund
BOSTON, Sept. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BlueHub Capital, a national nonprofit community finance organization, today announces that S&P Global Ratings has upgraded its affiliate BlueHub Loan Fund's financial outlook from 'A-' to 'A', citing increased equity and strong portfolio management.
BlueHub Loan Fund provides financing to affordable housing projects, community health centers, schools and other community assets in low-income areas. S&P raised both BlueHub Loan Fund's long-term issuer credit rating and series 2020 Sustainability Bond rating to 'A' with a stable outlook.
"This upgraded rating reflects the careful work of our talented team who continue to innovate as BlueHub goes into its 36th year of lending," said Elyse Cherry, CEO of BlueHub Capital. "With over $1.4 billion invested by the Loan Fund, we leverage every dollar to revitalize low-income communities and communities of color hit hardest by decades of disinvestment and, more recently, most severely impacted by COVID-19. S&P's rating shows that building healthy communities can result in a double-bottom-line return."
According to S&P Global, the increased rating reflects BlueHub Loan Fund's:
- improved financial strength with significant increases in equity;
- above-average profitability, compared to other rated community development financial institutions (CDFIs);
- very strong asset quality;
- and proactive loan portfolio management.
The 'A' rating provides further evidence of BlueHub's effective impact investing and success in executing on its mission of building healthy communities where low-income people live and work.
"We provide patient, flexible capital that is increasingly hard to find for organizations that build and provide community resources. The proceeds of this bond allowed us to offer our borrowers longer-term capital that better matches their financing needs and this upgraded rating illustrates our portfolio management and risk mitigation protocols are exceptional," said Michelle Volpe, president of BlueHub Loan Fund.
The $75 million Sustainability Bond, which closed in January 2020, was BlueHub Loan Fund's first public offering and includes $56.25 million in 10-year bonds and $18.75 million in 7-year bonds.
Learn more about investing in BlueHub Capital.
About BlueHub Capital
BlueHub Capital is a national nonprofit community finance organization with a 35-year history of building healthy communities where low-income people live and work. Since 1985, BlueHub Capital has invested over $2.2 billion to support low-income communities, creating and preserving over 26,000 units of affordable housing, 13,000 jobs, healthcare services for more than 197,000 patients, education and daycare for more than 70,700 children, and prevented over 1,150 foreclosure-related evictions. To learn more about BlueHub Capital and the impact of its investments, visit bluehubcapital.org.
Contact:
Autumn McLaughlin
[email protected]
617-933-5853
SOURCE BlueHub Capital
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