Credit Market Research | S&P Global Ratings (2024)

FAQs

Are credit ratings global? ›

The global credit rating industry is highly concentrated, with three agencies controlling most of the market: Moody's, S&P Global, and Fitch Ratings.

'BBB' National Ratings denote a moderate level of default risk relative to other issuers or obligations in the same country or monetary union. 'BB' National Ratings denote an elevated default risk relative to other issuers or obligations in the same country or monetary union.

S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities.

A CCC rating is considered to be speculative or junk grade, indicating that the issuer has a high risk of defaulting on its debt obligations.

The Big Three credit rating agencies are S&P Global Ratings (S&P), Moody's, and Fitch Group. S&P and Moody's are based in the US, while Fitch is dual-headquartered in New York City and London, and is controlled by Hearst.

The three major credit ratings agencies, Standard & Poor's Global Ratings, Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service, use a wide range of quantitative and qualitative metrics to calculate credit ratings. The specific factors vary between the three.

Bonds with a rating of BBB- (on the Standard & Poor's and Fitch scale) or Baa3 (on Moody's) or better are considered "investment-grade." Bonds with lower ratings are considered "speculative" and often referred to as "high-yield" or "junk" bonds.

For example, a corporate bond that is rated 'AA' is viewed by the rating agency as having a higher credit quality than a corporate bond with a 'BBB' rating. But the 'AA' rating isn't a guarantee that it will not default, only that, in the agency's opinion, it is less likely to default than the 'BBB' bond.

Junk bonds have a lower credit rating than investment-grade bonds, and therefore have to offer higher interest rates to attract investors. Junk bonds are generally rated BB[+] or lower by Standard & Poor's and Ba[1] or lower by Moody's. The rating indicates the likelihood that the bond issuer will default on the debt.

Coming in at No. 4 on the list of Philippines Best Workplaces™ 2021 is S&P Global, one of the leading providers of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide.

What is Amazon's S&P rating? ›

S&P Global Ratings affirms Amazon.com at "AA" (Foreign Currency LT credit rating); outlook stable. S&P Global Ratings affirmed the "AA" Foreign Currency LT credit rating of Amazon.com on May 18, 2023. The outlook is stable.

Standard & Poor's Global Ratings division ranks debt instruments, like bonds, and the companies that issue them, in terms of creditworthiness—defined as the likelihood of default or inability to pay debts in a timely manner.

"Junk" (Speculative)

Some speculative ratings include: CCC—currently vulnerable to nonpayment. C—highly vulnerable to nonpayment. D—in default.

Grade C. If you have a credit score between 630 and 679, you have fair credit. A score in this range means that you probably have too much debt and/or more than a few late payments.

Fitch Ratings' long-term credit ratings are assigned on an alphabetic scale from 'AAA' to 'D', first introduced in 1924 and later adopted and licensed by S&P. Like S&P, Fitch also uses intermediate +/− modifiers for each category between AA and CCC (e.g., AA+, AA, AA−, A+, A, A−, BBB+, BBB, BBB−, etc.).

The company operates in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Credit Karma, Inc. Oakland, California, U.S. All of Credit Karma's services are free to consumers.

You might wonder, “Do other countries have credit scores?” The short answer is yes. But if you're planning an international move, you might be surprised to learn that you can't take your credit score with you. Some countries—like Canada and the U.K.—have credit scoring systems that are similar to the U.S. model.

Economies with the highest credit rating at S&P Global Ratings, Fitch and Moody's Investors Service include Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Singapore and Australia. Canada is rated AAA by two of the ratings companies.

Fitch Affirms United Kingdom at 'AA-'; Outlook Negative. Fitch Ratings - London - 01 Dec 2023: Fitch Ratings has affirmed the United Kingdom's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'AA-' with a Negative Outlook.