Bangkok--23 Nov--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's investment-grade composite spread remained unchanged yesterday at 220 basis points (bps), while its speculative-grade counterpart expanded marginally by 2 bps to 694 bps. By rating, the 'AA', 'A', and 'BBB' spreads expanded one basis point each to 150 bps, 188 bps, and 275 bps, respectively. The 'BB' spread widened 3 bps to 510 bps, 'B' widened 4 bps to 688 bps, and 'CCC' expanded one basis point to 1,090 bps.
By industry, telecommunications expanded by the largest increment of 3 bps to 336 bps, followed by utilities, which widened 2 bps to 217 bps. Banks and industrials expanded one basis point each to 306 bps and 354 bps, respectively, and financial institutions remained unchanged at 380 bps.
Despite material tightening since their record highs in December 2008, the speculative-grade spread remains range-bound within a default cycle, and the investment-grade spread continues to face pressure from financial institutions and banks. In addition, speculative-grade defaults continue to accelerate, as does the preponderance of credit downgrades. Because of these factors, we expect spreads to remain at their elevated levels for some time as investors, the credit markets, and the economy cautiously tread through the current recessionary period.
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Mimi Barker, New York (1) 212-438-5054,
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