Hamilton’s credit rating drops due to cyberattack issues

The City of Hamilton’s credit rating has been downgraded by a major global agency — in part due to data recovery issues from a cyberattack .

S&P Global Ratings downgraded the city’s rating to AA+ from AAA in its annual rating review Oct. 21. The one-notch drop is due to the agency’s assessment of “gaps” in the city’s financial management practices.

“The City of Hamilton continues to face substantial delays in reconciling and compiling audited financial statements since the February 2024 cyberattack,” the report said. The report added the “persistent delay” in data recovery “underscores gaps in the city’s financial management practices” — particularly risk management — that are “not consistent” with similarly rated peers.

The city’s last audited financial statements are from 2022 an