Bangkok--29 Jun--Standard & Poor's
The number of global issuers poised for downgrades continues to decline, said an article published Friday, June 25, 2010 by Standard & Poor's, titled "Downgrade Potential Across Credit Grades And Sectors (Premium)." It has reached 634 in June, down from its record high of 1,028 a year ago.
"The decline in downgrade potential is largely the result of outlook revisions to stable as global economies and markets are substantially more supportive of stable credit quality than they were a year ago, despite recent developments in Europe," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research.
Potential downgrades are entities that have either a negative rating outlook or ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications across rating categories 'AAA' to 'B-'.
The 634 potential downgrades are 228 fewer than the average of the trailing 12 months and 358 fewer than the total a year ago. Downgrade potential peaked in April 2009 at 1,028 issuers globally, when the credit markets began to bottom out and slowly move toward stabilization.
By rating, 'B' rated companies have the highest potential for downgrades, with 76 companies (12% of the total) in this category. Globally, of the 634 issuers at risk of downgrades, 44% are rated speculative grade ('BB+' and lower).
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 by using the Ratings search box located in the left column at www.standardandpoors.com. Members of the media may request a copy of this report by contacting the media representative provided.
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