Bangkok--11 Jun--Standard & Poor's The number of entities at risk of downgrades reached a new record of 738 in May, 25 more than April, according to an article published yesterday by Standard & Poor's. The article, which is titled "Downgrade Potential Across Credit Grades And Sectors (Premium)," says that a material slowdown in housing and consumer-related activity and protracted tightening of lending conditions have continued to dampen credit fundamentals. The number of potential downgrades is 118 more than reported in the same period a year ago and is 103 more than the average recorded in the year 2007. The upsurge in the count of entities at risk of downgrades began in mid-summer 2007 with the onset of a material erosion of the residential real estate sector and large write downs by financial institutions. "By sector, mortgage institutions recorded the highest ratio of issuers with a negative bias relative to their total rated universe, followed by forest products and building materials," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research Group. "This is unsurprising given the deterioration in the housing markets." Further, consumer discretionary sectors including media and entertainment and consumer products sectors are poised for deterioration due to substantive shrinkage in credit availability and rising energy prices. RatingsDirect is the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. The standard version of this article is part of our standard Global Fixed Income Research content. The premium version contains expanded analysis of the article's most significant points, typically broken out by sector and region. Also in the premium version are in-depth charts and tables, the underlying data of which are available for download. Ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; under Credit Ratings in the left navigation bar, select Find a Rating, then Credit Ratings Search. 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 Contact: Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760