6.1a ERMUSR 08-14-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Andrew De Stefano Director +1-212-908-0284 Fitch Ratings,Inc. 33 Whitehall Street New York,NY 10004 Secondary Analyst Dennis M. Pidhemy Managing Director +1-212-908-0723 Committee Chairperson Doug Scott Managing Director +1-512-215-3725 A January 2018 district court ruling that dismissed claims regarding payment of Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority debt has raised questions about the scope of protections provided by Chapter 9 of the U.S. bankruptcy code to bonds secured by pledged special revenues. Fitch's rating criteria treat special revenue obligations as independent from the related municipality's general credit quality. The outcome of the litigation could result in modifications to Fitch's approach. For more information, see "What Investors Want to Know: The Impact of the Puerto Rico Ruling on Special Revenue Debt" available at www.fitchratings.com. Media Relations: Sandro Scenga,New York, Tel: +1 212 908 0278, Email: sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com. Applicable Criteria Rating Criteria for Public-Sector,Revenue-Supported Debt(pub. 26 Feb 2018) https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/10020113 U.S.Public Power Rating Criteria(pub. 18 May 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/864007 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS.PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTPS://WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION,RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM.PUBLISHED RATINGS,CRITERIA,AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES.FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT,CONFIDENTIALITY,CONFLICTS OF INTEREST,AFFILIATE FIREWALL,COMPLIANCE, AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION OF THIS SITE.DIRECTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS RELEVANT INTERESTS ARE AVAILABLE AT HTTPS://WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM/SITE/ REGULATORY.FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES.DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. Copyright©2018 by Fitch Ratings,Inc.,Fitch Ratings Ltd.and its subsidiaries.33 Whitehall Street,NY,NY 10004.Telephone: 1-800-753-4824,(212) 908-0500.Fax:(212)480-4435.Reproduction or retransmission in whole or in part is prohibited except by permission.All rights reserved.In issuing and maintaining its ratings and in making other reports(including forecast information),Fitch relies on factual information it receives from issuers and underwriters and from other sources Fitch believes to be credible.Fitch conducts a reasonable investigation of the factual information relied upon by it in accordance with its ratings methodology,and obtains reasonable verification of that information from independent sources,to the extent such sources are available for a given security or in a given jurisdiction.The manner of Fitch's factual investigation and the scope of the third-party verification it obtains will vary depending on the nature of the rated security and its issuer,the requirements and practices in the jurisdiction in which the rated security is offered and sold and/or the issuer is located,the availability and nature of relevant public information,access to the management of the issuer and its advisers,the availability of pre-existing third-party verifications such as audit reports,agreed-upon procedures letters,appraisals,actuarial reports, engineering reports,legal opinions and other reports provided by third parties,the availability of independent and competent third-party verification sources with respect to the particular security or in the particular jurisdiction of the issuer,and a variety of other factors.Users of Fitch's ratings and reports should understand that neither an enhanced factual investigation nor any third-party verification can ensure that all of the information Fitch relies on in connection with a rating or a report will be accurate and complete.Ultimately,the issuer and its advisers are responsible for the accuracy of the information they provide to Fitch and to the market in offering documents and other reports.In issuing its ratings and its reports,Fitch must rely on the work of experts,including independent auditors with respect to financial statements and attorneys with respect to legal and tax matters.Further,ratings and forecasts of financial and other information are inherently forward-looking and embody assumptions and predictions about future events that by 142