[en] The NRC and its predecessor the AEC have had a regulatory requirement since 1956 that utilities seeking a construction permit for a nuclear power plant be financially qualified to construct and operate the plant. Several amendments to the requirements were made over the years including an attempt in 1982 to drop financial qualification review for electric utilities. This attempt was subsequently found invalid by a federal court. Nevertheless, financial qualification reviews consume significant amounts of NRC staff time and time at Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hearings. The analysis reported in this study was conducted to determine whether there is any empirical evidence of a relationship between a utility's financial health at the time of its construction permits application and the subsequent safety performance of the operating plant. The principal financial measures used to test for this relationship were bond rating, interest coverage ratio, debt/asset ratio, debt/equity ratio, and rate of return on equity. The principal safety measure was the long-term average of the scores assigned the utility in four key areas by the NRC under the Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance program. The results of the analysis showed no evidence of a relationship between financial health at the time of the construction permit and subsequent safety performance. 7 refs., 16 figs., 4 tabs