Bangkok--9 Feb--Standard & Poor's
In 2010, U.S. nonfinancial upgrades outpaced downgrades for the first time in 13 years. During the year, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded 285 issuers ($615.9 billion) and downgraded 198 issuers ($606.7 billion). This led to a sharp reversal in the downgrade-to-upgrade ratio to 0.7 to 1 in 2010 from a high of 4.4 to 1 in 2009, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research, titled "U.S. Nonfinancial Upgrades Exceed Downgrades For The First Time In 13 Years."
The downgrade-to-upgrade ratio in 2010 is significantly lower than the 2009 ratio of 4.4 to 1 and the long-term average of 2.7 to 1. "The ratio in 2010 has only been matched in 1997, when the downgrade-to-upgrade ratio was also 0.7 to 1," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research Group. "Credit conditions were notably different in both years though, as 1997 followed two consecutive years with stable credit market conditions and equalized downgrade-to-upgrade ratios, whereas 2010 followed two consecutive years of both recessionary economic conditions and a difficult credit environment."
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Media Contact:
Mimi Barker, New York (1) 212-438-5054,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760