Yeshiva University Wins Credit Upgrade With New President

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By Daniel J. Solomon March 2, 2017

Yeshiva University received some positive financial news as the school prepares for new president Ari Berman to take the helm, with the Moody’s credit agency upgrading the institution’s financial outlook from “negative” to “stable.”

The university will “execute its plans and reach financially sustainable operations,” wrote the company, according to a report in the Commentator, the school newspaper. Furthermore, Moody’s expressed it confidence “that continued operational improvements will reduce the pace at which the university uses liquid reserves to fund structural cash deficits.” At the same time, Moody’s kept its rating on bonds from Yeshiva at B3, a “junk” rating that means it’s an extreme risk for investors.

Yeshiva has weathered financial trouble since the Great Recession, losing tens of millions of dollars a year in a crunch that has forced it to sell its medical school and a dozen buildings. Berman is a former pulpit rabbi from the Upper West Side.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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