Press report says CFC upgraded to A as previous A- rating remains visible
Key Facts
A report published via GlobeNewswire said Standard & Poor’s raised CFC’s long-term credit rating from A- to A, with a stable outlook. But CFC’s official ratings page reviewed still shows the agency’s rating at A- with a stable outlook, and the company’s annual report also showed the rating at A- on May 31, 2026. The available disclosures therefore do not independently confirm that A has become the current rating. CFC said Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch affirmed their ratings and stable outlooks during fiscal 2026. This discrepancy places any reading of the report in the context of the company’s published records, without attributing specific reasons for the upgrade to the agency.
CFC operates as a member-owned financial cooperative whose primary purpose is to finance members and partners in support of loan programs offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. Its business focuses on financing rural electric utilities, not operating the utilities themselves. According to its annual report, loans to electric utility organizations accounted for about 98% of total loans outstanding on May 31, 2026, the same share recorded on May 31, 2025. This concentration means its lending base is closely tied to one borrower sector. CFC says credit ratings affect its ability to access financing and its cost, making any confirmed rating change relevant to funding its operations.
Loans outstanding to CFC members totaled about $38.337 billion on August 31, 2026, down $85 million, or less than 1%, from May 31. The decline came as net line-of-credit loans fell $320 million, partly offset by a $235 million increase in net long-term loans. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, adjusted net income was $52.840 million, compared with $57.153 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year. The adjusted interest coverage measure fell to 1.15 from 1.16. The comparison shows declines in both adjusted measures, alongside a slight decrease in the loan balance between the end of May and the end of August.
The adjusted debt-to-equity ratio improved to 7.42 on August 31, 2026, from 7.46 on May 31. CFC said the decline in total adjusted debt exceeded the fall in total adjusted equity, as funding needs for the loan portfolio decreased. For fiscal 2026, total debt outstanding rose to $35.944 billion on May 31, an increase of $1.175 billion, or 3%, from the prior year. The company attributed the increase mainly to borrowing to finance growth in member loans. On the same date, available liquidity stood at $8.161 billion, or $1.601 billion below scheduled obligations over the following twelve months.
CFC said 29% of obligations scheduled over the twelve months following May 31, 2026, consisted of short-term investments held by its members. This share provides context on the components of short-term funding needs, alongside the reported liquidity balance. On the demand side, the company projected significant growth in electricity consumption across all U.S. regions through 2040. It said data centers and manufacturing would be the main drivers of this growth, followed by broader electrification of the economy. An update to the official ratings page or a new report from Standard & Poor’s may resolve whether the announced A rating has replaced the A- shown in CFC’s records.