Bangkok--14 Oct--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded 119 issuers and upgraded 106 globally in the third quarter of 2011. The 119 downgraded issuers had a total of $3.1 (?2.3) trillion in rated debt, and the 106 upgraded entities accounted for $409.6 (?300) billion in rated debt, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research, titled "Downgrades Outpaced Upgrades In The Third Quarter In The U.S., Europe, Emerging Markets, And The Other Developed Region."
We expect credit quality to continue to stabilize on a global basis, though some weak spots remain, specifically Europe and the global financial sector.
"By issuer count, more than half of the rating actions in the third quarter were on U.S.-based issuers. The emerging markets followed with about one-fifth of rating actions by issuer count," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. "However, by debt amount, sovereign rating actions in the emerging markets dominated, accounting for 73% of the rating actions globally and 99% of the rating actions in the region."
Negative bias remains below the long-term averages across all regions. This implies that the pace of downgrades has declined from the highs reached in the past three years. Positive bias remains below its historical averages across nearly all regions as well. "Together, these two measures imply that global credit quality will continue to stabilize, though not improve, in the near term, especially when factoring in the global economic and political uncertainty," said Ms. Vazza.
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:
Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760