Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Colorado
The Southern Utes have become the first American Indian tribes to win Fitch Inc.'s top bond rating. The AAA rating on general obligation bonds gives the 1,375-member tribe a better credit rating than Japan or Canada and means the tribe will not have to pay as much to borrow money. Fitch praised the tribe's management team for sticking to a successful 1999 financial plan. The Southern Utes also have large returns from natural gas and other minerals on the 700,000-acre reservation. Rating agency Standard & Poor plans to rate the tribe by the end of June. Tribe financial analyst Brian McNiell said the Southern Utes plan to issue tax-exempt general obligation bonds at 2.15 percent even though they don't need to raise the money. 'It's just a great rate for us to finance infrastructure,'' McNiell said. 'If we can borrow at 2 percent and earn 40 percent, there's no reason why we shouldn't.'' The tribe's net worth is more than $1 billion.
