Common use of QUALITY GUIDELINES Clause in Contracts

QUALITY GUIDELINES. 1. Ratings a. Except with respect to permitted collateral for repurchase agreements (F. 1.) and as noted below, a permissible investment must have a minimum short-term rating as provided by a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (“NRSRO”) as follows: Any one of the following: A-1 by Standard & Poors (“S&P”), P-1 by ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ Investor Services (“Moody’s”), F-1 by Fitch (or an equivalent rating by another NRSRO). A security without its own rating shall be considered to be rated if the issuer of the security is rated with respect to: (i) a class of short-term debt obligations, in the case of short-term ratings, or (ii) a class of long-term debt obligations, in the case of long-term ratings, or (iii) any security of the issuer within a class the same as the unrated security that is comparable in priority of payment to the unrated security to be purchased. Long-term ratings shall be used only if a security is not rated and no security of the same issuer that is comparable in priority with such security is rated. Where a long-term rating is used, the issuer must have a minimum long-term rating as follows: Any one of the following: A- by S&P, A3 by Moody’s, A- by Fitch or equivalent rating by another NRSRO. b. Permitted collateral for repurchase agreements (see F.1.) must have a rating in the highest two categories from at least two NRSROs in the case of money market instruments and BBB/Baa or the equivalent for corporate obligations. Table of Contents