Bangkok--8 Dec--Standard & Poor's
Globally, seven more entities have moved to speculative-grade territory since Standard & Poor's report last month, said an article published today. The article, which is titled "Global Potential Fallen Angels (Premium)," says this brings the year-to-date tally to 47 issuers, affecting US$214.99 (?170.43) billion in rated debt.
"This amount is already a sizable 64% more than the total debt affected US$131.29 (?103.90) by fallen angels in 2007," noted Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research Group. (Fallen angels are issuers downgraded to speculative grade from investment grade, whereas rising stars move in the opposite direction.) The number of fallen angels is the highest seen since 2003 and the third highest since our series began in 1987 (the highest being 2002, after the last recession).
"Such an increase is in line with our expectations, where fallen angels were poised to overtake rising stars, particularly in the current credit environment," Ms. Vazza added. This month, fallen angels exceeded rising stars by a margin of nine issuers and 28% of debt.
Belgium-based diversified financial services company Fortis SA/NV continues to be the largest potential fallen angel with $27.80 (?22.00) billion in rated debt.
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 Contacts:
Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760