Bangkok--2 Sep--Standard & Poor's
Rated U.S. nonfinancial corporate borrowers are enjoying a second straight year in which rating upgrades have outpaced downgrades, but Standard & Poor's Ratings Services expects the pace of upgrades and downgrades to be more balanced, at least through the end of 2011, according to a report published earlier today on RatingsDirect. "U.S. Corporate Borrowers May See A Balance Of Upgrades And Downgrades Through Year-End 2011" says that among all U.S. corporate borrowers, upgrades have outnumbered downgrades by about 1.6 to 1 so far this year. However, the improvement in creditworthiness has been mostly among speculative-grade entities.
"U.S. corporate borrowers up and down the ratings scale have certainly taken advantage of welcoming capital markets," said Standard & Poor's Managing Director John Bilardello. "Investor appetite is there, and the resulting low interest rates have made it easy for many companies--especially speculative-grade borrowers--to find funding. How long these extremely favorable conditions last remains to be seen."
Operating conditions in a number of industries could continue to stabilize. But, a lot will depend on borrowers' access to the credit markets in the near term. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's recent lowering of the U.S. sovereign credit rating has not had any immediate or direct effects on corporate credit quality as a whole.
The report is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com. If you are not a RatingsDirect subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by calling (1) 212-438-7280 or sending an e-mail to
[email protected]. Ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site by using the Ratings search box located in the left column at www.standardandpoors.com. Members of the media may request a copy of this report by contacting the media representative provided.
Media Contact:
Mimi Barker, New York (1) 212.438.5054,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
John J Bilardello, New York (1) 212-438-7664