Invercargill City Council retains AA+ credit rating
Invercargill City Council’s strong financial performance has again seen it awarded an AA+ credit rating.
Leading global credit rating and research company Fitch Ratings announced Council’s 2026 credit rating today.
Councillor Trish Boyle, chair of Council’s Finance and Policy Committee, said Fitch’s rating reaffirmed Council’s pragmatic approach to its financial performance.
“Fitch’s decision to once again award Invercargill City Council an AA+ credit rating reflects Council’s commitment to demonstrating sound economic governance on behalf of our community,” she said.
“The global economic outlook and myriad legislative reforms have made the wider financial environment challenging for Councils throughout the country, however Invercargill City Council’s approach to weathering these has put us in a strong position for the future.”
This year marked the seventh consecutive year Council had received an AA+ credit rating from Fitch Ratings.
“The announcement that we have retained our AA+ credit rating from an independent source demonstrates that Council’s conservative financial management approach continues to put our community in a strong position – not just for today’s residents, but for the generations who will follow us,” Boyle said.
In its report Fitch Ratings noted it believed Council would maintain its solid financial performance. While debt would rise to fund the expansion of Council’s capital programme within the next few years – in particular as in-house water services were established – its borrowings would be manageable, and commensurate with the organisation’s broader operating performance.
The report also noted that Council’s financial performance was expected to preserve sufficient stability and flexibility in its revenue and expenditure profile.
