Bangkok--9 Oct--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has published its third-quarter 2006 "Global Corporate And Sovereign Rating Actions" report, which stated global corporate credit quality continued to deteriorate in the third quarter with downgrades continuing to outpace upgrades.
Of the 203 corporate rating actions in the third quarter, 121 were downgrades while 82 were upgrades, resulting in a downgrade ratio of 60%. The downgrade ratio has increased in the past two quarters from 52% and 54% in the first and second quarters, respectively. The downgrade ratio is also significantly higher than the 46% recorded in the third quarter of 2005.
Credit quality in the year-to-date (YTD) 2006 is noticeably bleaker than the same period 2005. Although the number of downgrades through the third quarter this year is about the same as 2005, the 314 upgrades this year through September 2006 is much less than the 366 upgrades recorded last year. The decline in the number of upgrades resulted to a corresponding increase in the YTD downgrade ratio to 55% in 2006 from 51% in 2005.
The report is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com . If you are not a RatingsDirect subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by calling (1) 212-438-9823 or sending an e-mail to [email protected] . The report is also available at www.sandp.com/gfir , listed under Global Fixed Income Research. If you have not previously registered with the site, you will need to do so to access this material. Registration requires minimal information and is free. Members of the media may request a copy of this report by contacting the media representative name provided.