Bangkok--16 Jul--Standard & Poor's,
In line with global trends, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' ratings continued to serve as effective indicators of relative credit risk within the U.S. region in 2009, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research.
Our study of corporate defaults in the U.S. region (the U.S., Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands), titled "2009 U.S. Corporate Default Study And Rating Transitions," identifies a clear negative correspondence between ratings and defaults: the higher the issuer rating, the lower the observed default frequency.
"In the U.S., 191 companies defaulted in 2009, the most recorded in the history of our database, which begins in 1981," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. This is a result of the credit and economic crisis that began in late 2008. "Globally, the total number of defaulters catapulted in 2009, to 264 from 125 a year earlier."
The U.S. defaulters in 2009 accounted for the lion's share of global debt affected--totaling $516 billion, or roughly 82% of the global total.
"The speculative-grade corporate default rate in the U.S. was 11% at year-end 2009, much higher than in any other region and nearly 2% higher than the 9.35% global rate," said Ms. Vazza. "Speculative-grade corporate default rates in other regions were also elevated, at 8% in Europe and 6% in the emerging markets."
We annually publish default and transition studies, which provide detailed information about the performance of Standard & Poor's ratings across sectors. The report published today provides additional insight into the U.S. corporate sector default and transition experience and is part of Standard & Poor's ongoing commitment to providing greater transparency to the markets. The global default study, titled "2009 Annual Global Corporate Default Study And Rating Transitions," published March 17, 2010, can be found at Standard & Poor's free Web site, www.standardandpoors.com.
The report is available to RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal subscribers at www.globalcreditportal.com and RatingsDirect subscribers at www.ratingsdirect.com. If you are not a RatingsDirect subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by calling (1) 212-438-7280 or sending an e-mail to
[email protected]. 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.
Media Contact:
Mimi Barker, New York (1) 212-438-5054,
[email protected]
Analyst Contact:
Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760
Key Contacts:
Americas Media Relations: (1) 212-438-6667
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[email protected]
Americas Customer Service: (1) 212-438-7280
[email protected]