The city of Detroit’s credit rating has been returned to Investment Grade by Moody’s Investors Services for the first time in 15 years. The last time Detroit was considered Investment Grade was 2009, four years before the city declared bankruptcy.

The two-notch upgrade came Friday and means that the city will face lower costs when they borrow funds to pay for various investments and upgrades. The former rating, Ba1, signified a higher degree of default risk than the Baa2 rating upgrade.

Moody’s credits Detroit with strong financial management, jobs and revenue growth and a positive outlook for continuing improvements.

In a news conference Monday, Mayor Mike Duggan said Detroit has seen 10 credit rating upgrades by Moody’s in less than a decade. He credited the city’s approach to the retiree’s pension fund in 2014 as well as city developments by several people and businesses including Jeep, Ford, General Motors, Dan Gilbert, Chris Ilitch and more.

“I was really pleased to see Moody’s in their report, cite 10 years of strong financial management in the city as the reason for this, as well as the fact that the home values in Detroit have doubled in the last five years,” Duggan said. “Everybody in America is now recognizing the city of Detroit’s financial comeback.”

S&P Global Ratings rated Detroit as BB+ rating in March 2023, still one notch below Investment Grade. Fitch Ratings rated the city BBB in February 2023, due to improvement in pledged revenue growth prospects driven by development.

The positive outlook indicates that Moody’s expects “Detroit’s tax base and revenue growth will continue to absorb rising costs associated with salaries, benefits and services” over the next 12 to 18 months, according to the report from Moody’s.

Financial conditions have continued to improve for the city. While Fitch downgraded Detroit to a “D” rating in 2013 then withdrew its rating entirely in 2014 — Moody’s Investor Service and S&P Global Ratings have continually upgraded the city in recent years.