Bangkok--5 Sep--Standard & Poor's Over the past 12 months, the quality premium has risen substantially as the market has repriced default risk, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's. We define the quality premium as the difference in option adjusted spreads on cash bonds at different rating categories, which we measure using the difference in our composite indices by rating category. The quality premium between 'BBB' and 'BB' firms rose to 172 basis points (bps) on Aug. 29 from 95 bps at the end of June 2007, according to the article, titled "U.S. Credit Comment: Quality Premium Jumps As Default Risk Rises (Premium)." The blowout in the quality premium is even more pronounced within the high-yield segment. "The quality premium between rating categories in the high-yield segment should remain elevated and may continue to widen if credit quality keeps deteriorating," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research Group. This article is part of our premium Global Fixed Income Research content, which is available to premium subscribers of RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. 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 Contacts: Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760