PRESS RELEASE

Treasurer Kennedy Holds Conference Call with National Rating Agencies
BATON ROUGE (September 3, 2008) - State Treasurer John Kennedy held a conference call with the three national rating agencies today to update them on the status of state and local government finances in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.  Representatives from Fitch, Moody’s Investors Service, and Standard and Poor’s participated in the 2:30 p.m. teleconference.

“It is important to keep everyone involved in this process informed, especially because the financial markets do not like uncertainty,” said Treasurer Kennedy.  “We will keep the lines of communication open with the national rating agencies and investors about Gustav’s impacts statewide and our state’s recovery progress.”

The Treasury is closely coordinating with the Governor and Administration officials to ensure Louisiana’s financial investments are protected and state and local requirements are met during this recovery period.  “We want to make it clear that we will do everything possible to ensure that cash flow is not an impediment to the state’s recovery from this storm,” said Treasurer Kennedy.  

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